Tag: Rosslyn Safari
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Rosslyn Reindeer?
Recent wildlife camera footage suggests that we just *might* be hosting a herd of Rosslyn reindeer. Or Eastern Whitetail Deer masquerading as reindeer… That handsome 8-point buck above is rehearsing his best Rudolph routine, and his nimble chum below could pass as Prancer. Captured with discretely located cameras in Rosslyn’s wildlife sanctuary, these robust whitetail…
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Opossum O’Clock
You’ve heard of happy hour. And maybe even beer blogging. But opossum o’clock? Earlier this evening (or late this afternoon, if you’re still jet lagging from the standard time to daylight savings time adjustment,) Carley burst into a barking frenzy. Bark, bark, bark,… Not an excited “My momma’s home!” bark. Nor an “I need to…
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Northern Cardinal
It’s fair to call it midwinter, I think, and yet snow has been intermittent and sparse. But it’s plenty cold, so we’ll trust the calendar. The Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) photographed by one of our wildlife cameras tells a different story. It could be autumn. Or spring. The male Northern Cardinal is perhaps responsible for…
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Raccoon Skull Haiku
Plain as cuspid skull,winter’s lumbering bandit,furred, furtive, no more. Sometime poems, even haiku, compose themselves. Or nearly so. When I reached out to ask if anyone recognized the skull that appeared mysteriously behind the carriage barn recently, I received several helpful responses. Joel (@mountain_man_fur) and Heather (@evergreen_lakeside_living) were the most prompt and the most decisive.…
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Walking Stick Haiku I
A couple of weeks ago I shared another walking stick photograph on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter with this accompanying haiku. A walking stick and miniature companion gossip in the shade. My walking stick haiku makes more sense if you actually look closely at the photograph. https://www.instagram.com/p/CDogBYJpIs8/ Can you discern the walking stick’s miniature companion? Is…
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Friend or Foe: Yellow Garden Spider
Meet our Yellow Garden Spider (Argiope aurantia). This morning this awesome arachnid greeted me from a flower bed planted with Shasta daisies, lupine, and irises. She’s dazzling and, I’ll admit it, a little daunting. Is she friend or foe? Yellow Garden Spider Although I’ve come across these visually impressive pest predators before I needed a…
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More Bobcat Images from Trail Cam
I’m slowly catching up on a backlog of game camera photographs from last winter. Today I’d like to share new bobcat images from January 2017, though I’m not 100% certain when the handsome cat prowled our meadows because I failed to reset the time/date stamp when I installed the camera. (Note that the default date…
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Bald Eagle Omen
I share with you a bald eagle omen, courtesy of my mother. Bald eagle by your boat house. Saw this elegant creature as I went to massage and he was still there when I returned. May be a sign of something good? ~ Melissa Davis Rosslyn’s boathouse is often frequented by bald eagles, hawks, and other…
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Bobcat Sighting
This handsome bobcat (Lynx rufus) was photographed with game camera in one of our meadows on January 2, 2016. Friend and Essex neighbor John Davis mounted the camera about a month ago. In addition to photographs of deer, turkeys, and rabbits he discovered four images (from two separate occasions) of this healthy bobcat. In fact, he thinks it might possibly…
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Decrypting Bird Tracks in Snow
I don’t recall whether or not I was fascinated with animal and bird tracks in snow as a child, but I suspect I was. I am now… (Fox Tracks, Foxtrot & X-Country Skiing) It wasn’t until my nephews (now teenagers but still “pocket sized” then) began asking me to identify bird tracks in snow, four…
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Fox Tracks, Foxtrot & X-Country Skiing
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An inch or two of fresh powder and bluebird skies above lured me away from my desk on Monday for a mid-morning x-country ski outing with my lab. Hooky! Crisp but otherwise perfect conditions were the enticement; fresh fox tracks (I think) were the unanticipated reward. Griffin, my water and snow loving labrador retriever was…
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Mallard Jacuzzi
As Lake Champlain freezes and thaws and freezes again, trying to create a seamless skateable expanse between the Adirondack Coast and Vermont, Rosslyn’s boathouse bubbler offers the wild ducks welcome refuge. It’s a veritable mallard jacuzzi! Or a bald eagle buffet? The shrewd raptors observe from the trees nearby, waiting… Ducks at Dawn on Icy…