French Broad Hollow Ramble

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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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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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I knew it was fawn time, and driving up my road one day last week I saw a doe standing in the meadow. Since the bears are around, I don’t leave food in the pans but take corn and apples down whenever I see deer waiting. 🙂 I grabbed the pail and started down the hill, just as she was headed up with the fawn! The fawn quickly ran tottered into the brush, and the mama followed me down to eat. I looked for the fawn as I walked back up and saw it huddled next to a patch of tall Southern Crownbeard. I snapped a few photos then went to the house to watch from the deck.

The doe called for the fawn and finally found it. (Fawns have little if any scent.) She cleaned it, and they moved up the hill and into the woods. (short video here) I’ve seen the mama (and another new mama) at least once a day since but have not seen the fawn again.

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I have seen a few other deer, although not nearly as many as earlier this year. I think this little buck was the mama deer’s fawn from last year. I often saw him with her (at least I think it was her) earlier, but now he seems to be on his own. He stays close to the house and sometimes naps in the meadow.

In case you’re wondering, yes, I have seen bears again, but fortunately I heard then first and then spotted them (I think there were two) in the woods between my driveway and the neighbor’s. I used the air horn again, and they kept going and disappeared into the woods.

In an earlier post I wrote that butterflies seemed to keep me company on my walks, but lately it seems to be dragonflies and damselflies. They are so small and quick that it’s hard to get photos, but I did manage to get a few. I see some interesting moths and butterflies, too.

Common Whitetail Dragonfly Plathemis lydia

Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly Calopteryx maculata

Banded Pennant Dragonfly Celithemis fasciata

Eight-spotted Forester Moth Alypia octomaculata

Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta

Large Lace-Border Moth Scopula limboundata

Reversed Haploa Moth Haploa reversa

Often when I take food down for the deer, I am accompanied by a couple of tom turkeys. Yesterday I saw a hen with about 15 poults, but they disappeared before I could get a photo. The same thing happened on my walk today, but I should be able to get photos and videos before too long. Remember these from last year? Meadow Driveway

They are making visible progress on the new house. Since I last posted about it, they have drilled a well (an extremely loud process!) and put in some basement walls. I am trying to take one photo each week; as you can see, sometimes it seems that little is happening.

And that’s a round-up of what’s been happening in the Hollow—or at least all I can think of right now. 🙂 I’ll keep my eyes and ears open and let you know what I observe in the next post.

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According to Jonathan Bressie at Quora.com, “a group of bears is called a sloth or a sleuth.” I posted earlier about sighting “a” bear, but Sunday there were three! (My guess is a mama bear and her yearling cubs.) I banged a cookie sheet from the deck, and they moved on across the road. Watch here. Then I ordered a couple of small air horns. (My friends who often visit Yellowstone suggested air horns after they saw the rangers there use them.)

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Yesterday I saw one in the meadow; there were two by the time I got out to the deck with the air horn. I’m happy to say that they ran off into the woods on the other side of the road when they heard it.

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I had obligations at school Monday and Tuesday and was a bit relieved that I didn’t have time for my ramble. However, I was back out on Wednesday (and every day since), with an air horn in my pocket and a whistle around my neck. I almost always pay attention to my surroundings as I walk. (After all, I need photos and observations for this blog!) I’m being super-vigilant these days, and still noticing some of the animals around me!

See the deer?

There’s a rabbit in here!

With much sorrow, I took some of the bird feeders down and now bring the others in at night and whenever I leave. Also, I make sure to feed the deer only when I see them and only enough to make sure there will be no leftovers. It’s about time for the fawns to appear, and I just can’t make myself quit feeding them all together.

It has rained most of the day, and the forecast calls for more days of rain before it clears. That means I’ll be stuck inside and probably have time for editing photos and posting again soon.

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It’s been busy around here! While sitting at the breakfast table the morning after my last post, I heard a LOUD crash. I knew it was a tree falling, and when I looked out, I saw that a huge red oak had fallen across the little brook, across the road, and halfway across the meadow.

I was worried it had taken down two of my pawpaw trees. I pulled on my boots, grabbed my loppers, and headed into the meadow to inspect the damage. After some lopping, I was delighted to discover that the large pawpaw (the one that has borne fruit for the past two years) was relatively undamaged. However, I couldn’t find the smaller one and decided to wait after I heard some branches groaning. The crown of the tree was enormous, as you can see from this photo taken later in the day.

I worked on getting someone to remove the tree, then headed out for my walk. I was planning to crawl over the tree trunk until I realized that it was covered in poison ivy! I detoured into the woods to get around the tree and saw that it had pulled down a small white pine, a wild cherry, and a box elder when it fell.

Some folks came that afternoon and got the road cleared. One of them helped me look for the other pawpaw, which I finally found—a bit damaged but not broken!

The deer and turkeys didn’t like all the commotion, but they showed up to eat after the workers left. The tom turkeys are still strutting and gobbling, although not nearly as much as earlier. I think the hens are nesting; when I came up the road this week, a hen crossed in front of me, followed by about eight poults. (Maybe I’ll have photos of the turkey families soon.)

And I should have fawn photos before too long, too. It looks as though some of the does are nursing fawns somewhere in the woods, while others are still pregnant.

I’m accustomed to seeing turkeys and other birds in the driveway under the feeder that is strung about 12′ in the air, but I was not ready to see this visitor! I heard the “warning” chimes on the feeder line while I was still in bed one morning and thought it was a squirrel. What a surprise when I saw a bear on standing up, trying to reach the feeder! Somehow he’d already bent a grapevine post and could almost reach the lowered feeder, but I was able to shoo him off (from the safety of the deck) (watch!) before he got any seed. Now I bring that feeder in at night, too, along with the hummingbird feeders and a feeder off the patio.

I continue to see other critters around the house and on my rambles.

Well, this critter is tired now, and cats and chores beckon. Maybe the next post won’t be so exciting; I guess we’ll all have to wait and see!

The arrival of (mostly) warmer weather has meant more activity among the critters in the Hollow. The previous post featured some butterflies, but I see many others. Above are three Eastern Fence Lizards (Sceloporus undulatus), which are the most abundant lizard I see around my house. I hadn’t encountered one on my walk until I heard something rustling leaves beside the road and saw the one on the left perch on a fallen tree branch. A large skink (I think it’s a Broad-Headed) lives around the house, too, but it’s too quick for me to get a photo.

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Other reptiles live close by, too. I stepped out the basement one day last week and almost stepped on this Rat Snake (Pantherophis obsoletus). I watched it crawl up into the sweetshrub/ Carolina allspice (Calycanthus floridus). You can watch it here.

It pains me to think of this now, but I grew up catching lizards and “Horned Toads” in New Mexico, and we had a large tank with various turtles (and a caiman!) we had collected on trips around the state and the southeast. Now I am more of an advocate for nature, and the local Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina) is one of my favorite animals. They are beautiful, and their long lifespans mean that I sometimes see the same ones year after year. Sadly, I occasionally find where one has been crushed by a careless driver, and I worry about the impact of trucks hauling supplies to the house under construction. (Read here to learn what to do when you see a turtle in the road.)

This year I was excited to see a small Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) in the little branch that runs through the Hollow. Unfortunately, it was down a steep bank, and I couldn’t get close enough for a better photo.

The Hollow is full of squirrels and chipmunks, and I occasionally see a rabbit. One mammal that most visitors want to see (from a distance) is a Black Bear (Ursus americanus); too bad no one but me was here when this one passed through the meadow last week! Watch! I was glad that the other critters had eaten all the food, so he didn’t find anything to tempt him to return!

You know, of course, about the deer and turkeys that come to eat in the meadow and may remember from earlier posts that the deer sometimes rest near the house to chew their cuds. (This fellow is back up there again today as I am writing this, and a turkey walked by as I was watching.)

The warmer weather has brought flies and other pests that bother the deer, and I noticed that one of the young bucks has “warts” (cutaneous fibromas). He’s not the first one I’ve seen with this condition, and I always hope the warts will be a deterrent to hunters later in the year. The pregnant does are beginning to “show,” and it won’t be long before I’ll be posting photos of fawns!

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(The recent rains may have flooded the neighbors’ road, and the gate was open so they could use our road.)

I planned to write this yesterday afternoon, but an invitation to walk with friends meant I never had the time, so this is a day late. During my morning ramble yesterday, the many vibrant hues of the green leaves and the numerous white blossoms had me thinking of colors, and when I saw some red blooms, I was reminded of the flag of Mexico.

Spring is definitely here, although some days have felt more like summer. We’ve had plenty more rain since my last post, especially in April.

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I guess the rain has been good for the plants. The greens and whites are all over, making the spots of yellow and purple stand out.

Some leaves, like the oak, are a muted red as they emerge. Fortunately, the red of the emerging poison ivy leaves give notice to avoid them!

The butterflies are plentiful and sometimes seem to keep me company as I walk. (I’ve even seen a few Monarchs!) For the most part, they are too quick and “fluttery” for me to get a photo, but occasionally they get busy enough feeding on a flower or getting minerals from puddles or gravel that I can get a shot. I have watched them in their courtship dances and once saw a couple actually mating (last photo).

I’m always surprised at how long it takes to edit and upload photos and then write. It’s already time to feed the deer (and turkeys and squirrels and rabbits). I have more photos and stories and will try to post again soon.