Month: July 2019

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This obviously is not a bear; I wasn’t quick-witted enough to get a photo of the vandal. As I drove into the driveway after running errands one morning, I saw one of the hummingbird feeders on the ground and knew immediately that a bear had been around. As I carefully exited the car, I noticed that the garbage can had been dumped over (nothing interesting there). From the porch I could see that the shepherds hook had been flattened, and those feeders were down or gone. Then I heard a noise up the hill and saw a bear munching away on apples from my little tree (the only one that had apples this year). It was no trouble for him(?) to bend the wire fence to get at the tree; unfortunately, one of the branches was split in the process. We looked at each other before he ambled off into the woods. (Later I picked the rest of the apples and taped the split branch to see if it will heal.)

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I love living here and observing nature but I’ve learned my lessons:

• At least one bear has decided to hang around in the Hollow.
• No more feeders unless I am home and watching.
• Feed the deer only when they show up and no more than they (and the turkeys) can finish. (I just went down and fed six does and Lil Buck while five or six fawns ran around the meadow and into the woods.) Here’s a short video of how it ended.

They’ve all left, and the cats are waiting to be fed. I’ll get back to the blog another day soon!

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When the weather keeps me inside, it’s usually because it’s raining or sleeting, but today it’s too hot. I know most of you are experiencing even hotter weather, and I sometimes wonder how I ever played softball in Alabama in weather like this. I half expect someone to call and check on me, since I am one of those “elderly friends and neighbors!” 🙂

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As I walk in the mornings (to avoid the heat), I encounter butterflies, deer, rabbits, and the occasional flock of turkey hens and their poults.

Hackberry Emperor Asterocampa celtis

Pearl Crescent Phyciodes tharos

Great Spangled Fritillary Speyeria cybele

Least Skipper Ancyloxypha numitor

I also see box turtles. One seems to like staying in puddles in the ditch at the side of the road, and I speak to him almost every day.

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The deer continue to come, and they are bringing the fawns more often (although not in the heat of the day). There are several sets of twins; here are some videos of one set nursing (watch the turkeys photobomb) and exploring.

I’ve interrupted this post to finish mowing the lawn, take corn to the deer, and feed the cats. It’s time to post it. Until next time…

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I like to listen to birds and other nature noises when I walk. Today, while I was rambling by a field where neighbors store a trailer and a boat, I heard something running toward me. I stopped, and suddenly a fawn ran by—followed closely by a large bobcat! The bobcat stopped and went into the brush nearby; the mama doe ran past after her fawn. The bobcat and I were both still, staring at each other. (I was almost in shock at what had just happened but collected myself enough to get this photo.) Then, as the bobcat and I were studying each other, another fawn ran up from the trailer field. This one saw me and stopped, not very far from where the bobcat lurked in the brush. When I told the fawn to go on, the bobcat….turned and scurried back into the woods. I just stood there for a few minutes, amazed at what I had just experienced (and grateful that I had arrived when I did) before I continued my walk.

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Before this morning’s excitement, I had planned to begin this post by sharing what I saw yesterday—two sets of fawns in my orchard! Unfortunately, one pair disappeared into the woods before I could get a photo, but this pair stayed around for a while. Several of the mama does and their fawns cross the orchard on a regular basis. Watch here. In fact, I just glanced out and saw the mama and her twins headed that way. Here’s a slow motion (not on purpose) video. 

And then, while I was writing the above, I saw another (or the same?) mama and twins in the meadow. Of course, I took some corn and apple down. The fawns love to play in the meadow. They run along my mown paths and through the tall plants. Watch this one take off!

Are you tired of deer photos? Here are some other critters I’ve seen recently.

American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus)

Common Five-lined Skink (Plestiodon fasciatus)

It’s been critter time in the Hollow. I’ll post more next time.

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FrenchBroadHollow.com

It was a wonderful surprise to look out the kitchen door this week and see two fawns in the “orchard” behind my house. As I watched, a smaller fawn came running up to them, then back up the hill to its mom. It seemed to be enjoying the feeling of stretching out its spindly little legs! The twins moved down to rejoin their mom. (I think she is the dominant doe—the one who eats apples from my hand—and the other mom is her daughter. I’m trying to decide if she’s the one I call Fuzzy.) Meanwhile, the little one ran back and forth; watch here! Yesterday the little one and her mom came back while I was on the screen porch. The fawn was very curious and walked up close to the porch. Watch here!

The heat has continued without much break here, although it poured up the river in Asheville a couple of nights ago.

It’s interesting how different plants and mushrooms appear (or maybe I just notice them) from year to year. I saw several Flame Azaleas last year but not a one this year. I keep watching for a hint of the Chicken of the Woods” (Laetiporus sulphureus) but wonder if it will come up, given the construction traffic and the dry weather. However, this year I noticed a patch of Black Cohosh (Actaea racemosa).

Some of the other wildflowers blooming now are this Common Selfheal (Prunella vulgaris), Shrubby St. John’s-wort (Hypericum prolificum), and Carolina Ruellia  (Ruellia caroliniensis).

I’ve been down to the meadow several times today and have seen at least three mama deer, as well as the twins. I hear thunder now and hope it brings some rain; maybe the next post will have some muddy photos!

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Summer’s here! It’s been mostly sunny, and I’ve been catching up on some outside chores in the garden and around the house—things like repotting the geraniums that overwintered in the daylight basement, harvesting a few blueberries, and picking Japanese beetles off the scuppernong grapevines.

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I’ve been walking earlier to avoid the heat, and I think some of the critters are doing the same. I’ve seen several box turtles on my rambles; last week I saw three in one day!

I sometimes see deer in the woods as I walk, and they often wait in the meadow when they see me pass by. At least one of the mama does brings her fawn almost daily, but it still runs off when it sees me. One day I saw a mama and her tiny fawn crossing the road as I walked. You can see how shaky the fawn was (and also how shaky my video is) here.

We’ve had a lot of traffic from trucks with materials and workers for the new construction. If you know me well, you won’t be surprised to know that I often stop to chat about their work and to ask them to watch out for the critters.

The turkey poults have hatched. I sometimes hear and/or see them, but they’re still not much taller than the grass. One of the hens often brings her four surviving poults by the house and to the meadow, but they melt back into the woods before I can get a good photo.  This is the closest I’ve managed to get.

Summer blossoms and butterflies will have to wait for another day. And who knows what else will happen in the Hollow before the next post? (I hope no bears!)

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