Monday, December 23, 2019

Steve's wild Christmas!


 Mmmm the smell of Christmas baking this morning. Wait... what? I'm not baking anything! Yet this morning in the house there was a definite odor like cookies baking. I checked the stove and furnace, nothing on or burning. It didn't smell like fire, it definitely smelled like cookies or muffins baking. I was starting to wonder if mom or my grandmothers were trying to send a message. Finally... d'oh!!! I figured it out, I had moistened some cat food in a dish with water and a little canned cat food for extra flavor, then I placed it on the heating grate to warm it up. Smelled like cookies, unfortunately it certainly didn't taste like cookies... no I didn't try it, I'm just joking.

 My wild Christmas, okay relax everyone, not "that" kind of wild. Here some pics I want to share.

 Yesterday when I got up, I could see this impression in the snow, there were no tracks leading to or from it, clearly a Christmas Angel had descended from above and came to rest upon the snow.
 No actually what probably happened was an owl came down and caught a mouse under the snow, apparently their hearing is as good as their eyes and can detect movement under the snow. Mice and voles make tunnels under the snow, creating little highways, predators like foxes and owls listen for the movement and crash through to catch them.

 The great apple caper, back in October I kept finding crab apples all around the house, I couldn't figure out what was carrying the apples to the house and dropping them. A deer would eat them if they put it in their mouth but it definitely would not carry them. A raccoon would carry it but they would chew it up or at least put little teeth marks on it. Finally I saw the culprit and watched it one day.
 A young Fox out on its own, probably hungry was eating apples, not being part of its normal diet, it would pick up some in its mouth and I guess carried them to the house.
 Being young it came out during the day which is actually dangerous for a fox as they have enemies. Happily it is much smarter now, it still comes around but only after dark. Foxes are very hard on mice, so yay foxes!

 I was telling a friend about how a deer head suddenly fell from the sky one day. I didn't know if Santa had run into a helicopter or was it deernado, Armageddon or what was happening. Suddenly a large shadow drifted over the house and all was revealed.

 A Bald Eagle must have been carrying it and it became too heavy. There were actually two eagles, both with white heads, so maybe a pair, an offspring would be all brown. It's normal for them to come inland, they often scavenge off wolf kills.

 Speaking of deer, they are always around, I don't even notice them that much as a novelty, they are pretty though.
 I also had turkeys yesterday... Christmas turkeys??? They are destructive however, they came to the house so I went after them with a broom before they start to dig stuff up.


24 comments:

Deedles said...

And.....? This was disturbingly fascinating!

Mistress Maddie said...

Ohhhhhhhhh I love the fox. As you know i have several here. I'd have a pet fox if i could. Several.

Leanna said...

that was what I used to think when I was young and saw the imprint of wings in the snow. Strange. You have an abundance of wonderful wildlife in your yard.

Sooo-this-is-me said...

Deedles... disturbing, really? What could possibly be disturbing about a half eaten deer head falling from the sky?

Sooo-this-is-me said...

Maddie I would love to have a fox as well... except I want the two legged kind! ;)

Sooo-this-is-me said...

Leanna, yes but I'm surrounded by forest so not unexpected. The only thing I really don't like is bears hanging around in dry years.

Dave R said...

Turkey's will attack. They are not nice birds. And it may not have been an owl, perhaps a Christmas alien made that mark in the snow. And Foxes are a delight. I wish I knew more.

John Going Gently said...

I knew the owl print I've seen one here
Happy Christmas dearheart x

anne marie in philly said...

happy hollydayz to you and your wild life, steven!

Old Lurker said...

You know, for a while I wondered what Maddie saw in you. Of all the guys (muscular, young, rich) he had at his disposal, why was he so intent on marrying you? Now it is clear. Maddie wants access to all that nature. Bald eagles and endless winters are good selling points for marriage. Too bad he does not know you are planning to move to the big city, where all the wildlife that is available consists of bureaucrats.

Christina said...

Very interesting about the owl print. I've never seen one before.
I once held an owl at a display and was amazed at how light they are and so silent in flight.
Love the Fox and deer photos too. I used to see both near our home but houses are being built on the land all round and so they've been displaced. Sad.

May I wish you seasons greetings and a happy and healthy new year. Xx

Richard said...

Let me know if you see three men on camels.

Debra She Who Seeks said...

If you think cat food smells like baking, then you are far, far gone, my friend. Sober up!

Sooo-this-is-me said...

Dave out here turkeys are still wild, a turkey that attacks is a dead turkey so only the smart ones breed. Just stepping out the door sends them running. Okay yes it was actually an alien but the men in black told me to say an owl. Ummm... you should probably expect a visit from them today. O.O

Sooo-this-is-me said...

Happy Christmas John! It will be Christmas for you when you read this I believe.

Sooo-this-is-me said...

Anne Marie, same to you and hubby! Do everything Maddie would do... hahaha! Well you probably already made the naughty list so you have nothing to lose now!

Sooo-this-is-me said...

Lurker, with friends like you...? Maddie loves me for the same reason you love and obsess over me, now stop playing mentally rough with me because I know it's a coping mechanism to keep yourself from getting too attached to me. That pic of me is the face you will see when you finally give in and we make sweet sweet man on man love together.

Sooo-this-is-me said...

Christina, thank you and I return the happy wishes for you and your family!

Sooo-this-is-me said...

Richard, you mean three guys hooked on cigarettes? No camels but I had a close call last night driving home, Santa nearly had seven reindeer this Christmas.

Sooo-this-is-me said...

Debra, maybe my cooking is bad! No seriously it was the dried cat food and they make that with too much floor in it, so warmed up with water makes it smell like cookies.

JP said...

Love the owl imprint pictures - amazing.
Have a very Happy Christmas.
JP

Sooo-this-is-me said...

Hey JP! Happy Christmas to you and a certain hot Spanish chef! ;D

HuntleyBiGuy said...

The merriest of Christmases to you Steven. I hope Santa was good to you. Especially if he looked anything like what Sixpence posted. And enjoy the wildlife in your backyard. It’s spectacular!

Sooo-this-is-me said...

HuntleyBiGuy, I hope you had a great day today, thank you for the Christmas wishes.