Getting Close to Nature

Looking all stealthy in Joe's fluffy camo.

Looking all warm in Joe's fuzzy mask.

The essentials. Shotgun, Bible and bag of snacks (chocolate).

You need to click on this photo & make it bigger - it's some kind of cute!

The beaver.

I have spent two afternoons in the woods since shotgun season opened Saturday. Joe kindly volunteered his wonderful babysitting skills so I could go enjoy some one-on-one with nature. My, what fun this hunting business is! If I actually do kill a deer I'm sure I'll be a hopeless addict. =) Although, my "cravings" for the woods stop short when the wind chill gets a bit, um, chilly. My first day out was a true delight. Along with the 70 degree weather, I enjoyed much wildlife that included 7 deer, 4 raccoons (mom and 3 young ones - awww, so cute!!) and many neat things in the sky - such as a partial rainbow, a Bald Eagle, a Red-tailed Hawk, a Crane that sounded like a duck with a bad cold, and some very amusing woodpeckers of several different varieties. The second day I went out, I took my camera in hopes of seeing my little raccoon buddies again. As you can see from the photo, they still live in that nifty tree-house! Such cute little rascals, and it was fun to watch their "mom" tell them to stay in the tree (which they obediently did, only poking a head or some little feet out occasionally) while she went around digging in the mud and washing her face - right under my tree stand. I also saw 2 deer on that second day (no bucks.. which was fortunate for them!) some squirrels, and tons of little birds that made a terrible racket behind me all day long, including a little Tufted Titmouse that perched on a limb about 4 feet above me and eyed my bag of goodies, chirping loudly as if he thought he could scare me away from the food stash long enough for him to grab a bite. (I had dark chocolate in there, so it wasn't going to happen!!) Two beavers also came out at dusk and crunched away at limbs as they swam through the water. All I saw (besides a cute little animal) was a lush fur cape draped around my neck... Those little critters are tops on my most wanted list, and if you ever see me curled up in luxurious beaver fur, you'll know where I got it. Hopefully I can figure out a way to clean all the swamp cooties off of it first. =)