FOY: Bear

Just one at the lower DreiEcke on the 7 pm walk. It was small but shiny, and we didn't want to know if it was a cub with Momma hanging around or just a small singleton. We’d come thru the Walnut Grove, passed the shed, and were headed down to the Camping Platz. We turned around and headed home after that encounter. 

FOY

FOY: Hummer showed up on Monday (May 1) at dinner.
FOY: May 4 Whippoorwill at 9:00 PM
FOY: Black bear (yearling) in back checking out the grape and blueberry bushes. No pictures because 4 dogs went crazy inside.
But wait, he's in front now looking at the feeder. Sort of mangy back. 2 ear tags. Paul went out to scare him away (and take pictures), but he went up a tree instead. More crazy dogs protecting us.
~~2" rain in the last 24 hours but the driveway has held and we haven't seen any new trees down.

Wildlife at the Barony

Late in the afternoon we noticed a 4' Eastern Black Rat Snake in the woodpile at the front door.  Paul poked at it until it headed off around the corner under the living room door steps.  We both thought it was going into the air vent.  Paul tried pulling it out by the tail, but that wasn't successful in dragging the bugger out.  Later I let Gambol out that door.  He sniffed and was quite curious about the new odor around the steps.
A bit later a mother bear and 2 silky cubs trundled down the Jennifer trail.  All three looked to be in good condition. Perhaps these were little ones I saw raiding our bird-feeder, which is still wrapped around the tree, 30' up.
Gambol retrieved this girl half way down the upper meadow from one of the wild flower lanes. #15.1
We had a nice visit from Gracie and her Admiral.  They drove 3 hrs, walked around and had lunch for 3 hours, and drove home.  We always appreciate that effort.

Bear

First bear visit of the season.  It was a big one attempting to cross the driveway by the top culvert.  Dogs barked, and it fled. 

Long day

Paul was the grounds keeper, timer technician and on the course builder team  today for the dog training club's agility trial. That meant he had to leave the house around 6AM (for the second day in a row.) I was planning to sleep in a bit after the early dog walk and join him there about 1:00 for a couple of duties myself. He left and we did the early dog walk but then things disintegrated. I decided to pull some garlic mustard up the hill with my 2 helpers. Buddy brought me a mostly dead baby rabbit; no telling how many he'd eaten before he got generous. After about 30 min I realized I was only hearing one bell. No Gambol. Since we are between magic collars, my arm only reaches to my fingers not out to a wayward dog. 5 hrs later, Gambol could hardly wag his tail up the driveway: feet dragging and head apologetically low. I hosed him down to cool him off; he was amazingly unstinky and unmuddy. As I toweled him off, he cringed from belly rubs-- within seconds he threw up a large, long-dead, hairy, black thing and gagged a couple more times. He stayed in the breezeway to contain the inevitable: 3 more puddles of stomach contents.
After his rice dinner we went to the meadow. Buddy ran as usual; Gambol didn't get more than 30 feet from me. It could have been that he was tired, but I heard him mumble, "What? What? Don't be mad at me; it was you who got lost this morning. I knew where I was, but you weren't where I left you and I searched for you for 5 hours." Yeah. Right! What else today? 2 large stringy piles of bear poop--one behind the house and the other at the Lower Jennifer Trail head. That's probably what riled Gambol last night. So, no agility trial helper for me today. Maybe tomorrow. Better be!
A dead tree on the lower path that we've been watching has finally fallen. It's leaning on a live cherry and a couple of maples and laying low over the trail. Also the branch over the Bear's Lair Trail that was split by the last wind storm and hanging on by a splinter has finally fallen. No damage to any trails there.
FOY: Eastern Towhee
The owl still calls nearby around 0400.  Still not enough hummingbirds to see territory fights at the feeder.

Hen update

This Barred Rock's crop is so full of bugs  from our unseasonably warm weather and left over seeds she looks like she needs a one sided bra.  She's been laying since Jan 2008 but is probably about done.

Scuffling for treats from our dinner scraps.  All I have to do is shake my hand and they come running from a far.

 10 beautiful eggs today

 A barred rock and her buddy squirrel cleaning up sunflower seeds under the feeder.

Rhode Island Red (1 yr this month) among the daffodils happily bugging.

We had the first bear visit of the season last night:  the feeder rope was out of place and the compost bin was overturned.  All the hens are accounted for, however.

Reading
24Becoming Quinn ****Brett Battles  Meet Jake Oliver. The day will come when he's one of the best cleaners in the business, a man skilled at making bodies disappear.  At the moment, however, he's a twenty-two year old rookie cop, unaware his life is about to change. In a burning barn a body is found--and the fire isn't the cause of death. The detectives working the case have a pretty good idea about what went down. But Officer Oliver thinks it's something else entirely, and pursues a truth others would prefer remain hidden--others who will go to extreme lengths to keep him quiet. 
Every identity has an origin. This is Quinn's. (Kindle summary)
23Death Benefits ***Jennifer Becton  Fraud investigator Julia Jackson is back in action, and her next assignment throws her straight into the crosshairs of a bevy of desperate people…and one man who will do anything to keep his secret safe. Late one night, a car burns on a lonely rural road, and the discovery of a body—charred beyond recognition—in the driver’s seat sets in motion a series of deadly events. And when the wife of the supposedly deceased driver demands her husband’s million-dollar life insurance policy payout before the autopsy can be completed, fraud investigators Julia Jackson and Mark Vincent must determine exactly how the victim died and at whose hands. As Julia and Vincent interview witnesses and tangle with a host of angry suspects, another man is working behind the scenes to sever his mysterious connection to the body by any means necessary. Soon Julia and Vincent realize they are not dealing with an average death benefits scam, but with a potential serial killer instead. (Kindle summary)
22The List *** JA Konrath  It's a technothriller about a group of ten people who each have tattoos of numbers on the bottoms their feet, and don't know why. One of them, a Chicago Homicide cop named Tom Mankowski, has had one of these strange tattoos since birth. When he investigates a violent murder and discovers the victim also has a tattooed number, it sets the ball rolling for an adventure of historic proportions.  (Kindle summary)
21The Desperate Dad's Guide to Getting Some **Jackie Papandrew Humorous tales of family and marriage: choreplay is most definitely foreplay, no such thing as “woman’s work,” there are jobs only a man should have to do.

25 books so far this year!

Bear repair

Paul ordered the replacement windows from a company on the Internet and located in Camp Hill, PA so delivery was extra speedy.  The windows fit the rough opening exactly (how did THAT happen?) and he found some caulk that was used on the new house so the color is very close to the color of the chicken coop siding.  The new windows are single hung style and probably would be installed with the screened window on the bottom, but he installed them with the screen on the top.  The windows have 3 stops so that they can be held partly open, if desired.  The chickens liked the light inside the coop after having the plywood panels covering the openings since the bear's visit.

Bad News Bears

At chicken wake up this morning I was the one who had the wake up!  A board protecting the front door hinge had been torn off, but the big surprise occurred when I opened the door.  Both windows were ripped out and lay, in shards, outside the coop. The screens, fan, and light were also asunder.  Not good. As far as I could tell all hens were present, although they burst out the door as if, ...a bear perhaps, were after them.  I saw no blood or extra feathers, and no scratches on the coop sides.

Paul attached 2x4s to the sides of the windows and then screwed plywood panels to the outside (3/8 inch) and inside (3/4 inch) to cover the openings as a temporary fix.

turtles and bear

On our morning walk we found 2 turtles in the forest within 10 feet of where Buddy buried himself in the brush pile yesterday.  From appearances, they are mating. The wet weather has them happy again.

The boys alerted us to the bear under the bird feeder after our after-dinner walk.  No ear tags and no collar and it's kind of scruffy on its rear end.  

from the carriage house deck

Columbines and rain

After Leslie planted half of the Coral Bells on Saturday, we stopped by the plant nursery and picked up 8 Ilex, winterberry holly--Jim Dandy (3) and Berry Nice (5)-- and three flats of Aquilegia, Columbines-- Green Apple, Mini-Star, and Caerulea-- to go in between the Heuchera, Coral Bells--Bronze Wave, and _______________________.
Since the nursery was on our way to the State College Brew Expo at Tussy Mountain we checked off  2 jobs with one car ride.  We found Boaks had a couple of interesting beers (Monster Mash and 2 Blind Monks) that we'd never had before. The rest of the vendors were regulars.  The outdoor venue was good at spreading people out, but the porta-potty situation wasn't good (What were they thinking only having a few?)  Food was a la cart (extra cost).  Music (local) added to the experience; noise in my ears but a lot of people seemed to enjoy as they picnicked on blankets.  Cigars and smoking we could have done without.
Sunday dawned threatening so right after the early dog walk we began work to dig everything in before thunderstorms hit us.  Plant, then eat.  The gulley washer storms hit shortly after breakfast. A tornado warning was issued; most places in the University Park forecast area got at least an inch of rain and some hail was reported with 30-50 mph winds.  Rain water was running down the flagstone pathway like a river, so Leslie jumped out in the rain to create a few breaks in the shoulders for the water to run off and away from the house.  We had a creek running between the hill and the path for a while.  I'll have to do some design modifications to level the shoulders down to the flagstones to allow the rain water to run off in the next storm.
On our last dog walk, I watched a bear watch Paul on the tractor as he redistributed driveway stone washed out in the heavy rain.  The dogs and I were in our meadow.  The bear was peeking around R&D's dogwood tree near the culvert.  It was alone and I couldn't tell if it was collared or ear notched.  Neither dog saw it but Buddy smelled it when we got to the locust tree line.
Pictures of the Woodland Owners Field Day at Pionke's, a gypsy moth devastated forest near Moshannon.

Another leap of faith and a couple of bears

Paul was out digging potatoes in the garden when Buddy joined him, alone, off leash and quivering. A thunderstorm was on it's way. That dog is using up his lives.
Weather delay on the path work.
Two bears visited on their walk arounds today. One had a collar and was large, although not as large as the monster that visited last month; the other was smaller. They both looked healthy with glossy fur and bright eyes. They could have been mother and 2 yr cub but Paul didn't see them together or even going in the same direction. Luckily neither had a taste for chicken on the wing.
We did find a pile of cardinal feathers on a path but that looked more like hawk damage than bear.
A kettle of 6 turkey vultures spiraled over the valley tonight. We've never seen so many. It must have been a good year for breeding in our valley.

Early wake up

Both dogs were up early this foggy morning. Gambol tried to whisper something in my ear at 5:30.  Buddy just went for some reassuring ear rubs.  Both eventually went back to bed. 
On their forest walk at 10:00, they came upon these tracks in the mud under our bedroom window.

 

 bear tracks

When will we learn to believe them?

Bear Again

The big black bear just passed (0900) on the path between the house and the coop.  I ran out and saw him about half way up the path and yelled at him.  He looked at me and then ambled up the path and turned left on Shannon’s Curl.

Bear, snakes, and rabbit retrieval, Oh, My!

A big shiny black bear visited the bird seed refuse on Sunday night.  It left as we began, but Gambol had to finish the walk on leash just in case.
A snake didn't get out of the way of the Toy Shed door and got itself fatally squashed.  When I opened up the shed front door I found a 2 ft Eastern Garter Snake on the ground by the side of the door.  It had brown markings on its body, rather than the usual green.   It had a 2 inch crush mark on its body about 1/3 down from its neck and it was virtually paralyzed, moving only its head and a small section of its neck.  Since the shed door does not come all the way down to contact the ground when it is closed, I suspect the snake got caught between the door and the door jam.  So, I dispatched the snake by cutting its head off rather than let it die of starvation.  I carried the snake’s body up to the chicken coop but the hens were not interested in it, maybe because it was not moving.
The small garter snake has taken up HQ under a black rubber pad that Paul put out to dry on the lavender bed rocks.  He was there all weekend soaking up the warmth.
While cleaning out and composting the self-planted hawthorns and Paul-planted mountain ash, walnut and hickory trees along the rock wall, he found an intact 5' long snake skin, probably an Eastern rat.  I hung it on one of our posts; Gambol took issue and growled at it.
At dusk on Monday the boys alerted on a young rabbit, scratching in the driveway taking a dust bath.  He'd scratch then flop over just like the chickens do. Very comical but especially irritating to Gambol.  He retrieved it for us.
We have begun to tear apart the slash pile. It's a giant pick-up-sticks game. We now have 4 piles of logs in various states of decay stacked, and the 2 piles are pushed into one. We'll have lots of bark for mulching the garden and Paul will have room to expand the vegetable garden. 

Reading:  In the Belly of Jonah: A Liv Bergen Mystery *** Sandra Brannan. A serial murder near a small college campus solved.
All Through the Night **** Davis Bunn  Real Estate scam and a murder and couple of kidnappings brought down upon a retirement community solved by a CPA-Special forces guy.  Lot of praying but no overt proselytizing.  "A hero is somebody willing to risk all to gain all.  It doesn't matter whether he wins or not.  What matters is that he tries.  What matters is what he tries for."  Well said.

Bear

Gambol and I collected 1/2 sunflower seed bag of garlic mustard (I weeded; he chased 2 turtles) in the meadow.  The soil is just right for weeding and the flowers are showy now.  I put the bag by the garage door, under the deck so it could dry for burning this weekend.  The next morning the bag was gone!  Paul didn't know anything about it;  he didn't see it on his dog walks through the day.  How could a bear carry off a bag that heavy...and wouldn't you think the garlic mustard would far out-smell residual sunflower seed odors?
I found the torn apart bag 50 feet from the chicken coop,  behind the stumps, mustard in a fairly neat pile, the only green stuff in that area.
Today a 2" diameter aspen near the coop was broken off at about 12" off the ground. No aspens in the meadow have been bothered (yet).
I guess Brittanys don't feel the need to warn us that bears are in the 'hood; we haven't heard a sound from them.
We've only had 2 small caterpillar tents so far.  We crushed a lot last year so perhaps our cherries will be healthier this year. We are noticing more seedlings in the forest.
Paul made grilled asparagus with romano cheese and a spray of balsamic vinegar to finish.  The purple color stays bright.  He also found FOY 4 black morel mushrooms under some may apples and sauteed them with onions.  A spring delight.
FOY scarlet tanager and 3 black rat snakes

Goodbye Little Blue Hen

She didn't come home last night so we suspect foul (or is that fowl) play.  The bear has been hanging around.  It got 25# of sunflower seeds from R/D's deck over the weekend and left some large piles as evidence of that deed.  We also watched an unidentified woodland hawk take a pass at some hens last week.  RIP LBH.

Daffodil powder room

Doug worked on the powder room sink and shelf.  Once again I had a concept in my head and not much else for Doug to work with.  His design  and execution is better than my vision.  The cherry for the sink base came from Fort Washington.  The live edge piece on the privacy half wall, also cherry but significantly lighter, is local.
John and Chris were at work in the master bedroom closet setting the clothes rails and installing shelves.
A paint guy was at work filling holes in the wood work; he will next address any wall paint repairs.
A bear tried to join us on our morning walk near the upper Dreiecke.  Gambol, off leash, simply stood and looked.  Buddy, on leash, went crazy barking and pulling toward the bear.   We detoured back down the hill.

Doug removed a tile in the laundry and cut a hole in the tile for the dryer vent. 
Dwayne and helper installed a lot of electrical receptacles and switches in the loft level and also in the master bedroom. 
Cody, Chris, and John continued work on the rear wall siding and trim. 
Adrian installed more ducts in the ceiling of the basement.  In the basement we now have brushed chrome/nickle? door knobs on the bathroom and the closet.

The bear left his usual calling cards, this time two of them.
Peas are now in flower but no pea pods yet.

Bear evidence

We didn't see the bear but the chicken's big water pond was tipped over and under the bird feeder was a very large pile of scat.  The dogs didn't sleep very well; now we know why.

Bear visit

Paul is at his first Forest Stewards' weekend training at Camp Susque north of Williamsport; I was a booth-babe for Continuing Ed at the Central Susquehanna Oil and Gas Expo east of Williamsport; Gambol was at Fahracres Kennel north of Julian. He didn't have as much fun as we did. To make up for his cement floor and no forest runs, I gave him a marrow bone on the porch. That can hold his interest for quite a while so when he started barking his visitor warning bark, I stepped out to see what was worrying him. It was a small black bear by the bird bath. I yelled at the bear to keep on going and that we weren't serving poulet dinners here. It ambled off down the path. I couldn't see any chickens when I was yelling at the bear. They appeared shortly afterward none the worse for the visit.
I didn't see any hummingbirds today, but the feeder was drained and a storehouse for dead yellow-jackets. I'll put a new feeder out although I think that season is over.
Gambol got his 9th chipmunk on Friday. He trees them and then worries them and waits until they lose their grip. They apparently really are ground squirrels and while they can climb trees, they aren't as nimble vertically as their cousins. He is on them practically before they hit the ground. Sometimes he seems to try to trick them by making them think he's given up. He'll make a big deal of leaving the tree base but head back to the tree from another direction. His gambit often works.
A few more timbers were delivered to the Toy Shed on Friday.