Comet plus

I thought you might like to meet our dog, Comet. He is a three year old Doberman Pinscher--the ninth one we've had. Our first was Max, a show dog. The last ones before Comet were Donner, Blitzen, Dasher, and Prancer, . You may sense a theme there. Donner came to us already grown and named, so we just continued. Comet is the best one since Max. Amazing since I found him on line.

He likes to sit this way on the top step of the deck surveying his kingdom

He's very well built and probably could have been a show dog, but I was finished with that game years ago.

Here he's doing his tough dog trot.

Another portrait in the sunset

Dobermans come in black and tan like Comet and also red and tan. The reds could easily be mistaken for deer when they run through the woods, so that reminds me to show you our resident deer again.

This little guy is somehow easy to tell from the rest. He says he's still the cutest one, just like he has been since he was very tiny.

Here's the whole gang. Click to make them big enough to see.

New yard bird!!

I glanced at the feeders and saw this rump at the grape jelly dish late this afternoon. I knew it wasn't a bird I had seen before. So I grabbed the camera. Can you tell what it is from this view?

Even after getting these better views, I wasn't sure what it was because it's in a transitional plumage--end of the first year male.

He doesn't have the black cap and chestnut colored cheek, he will get later. So do you know now?

It's a Cape May Warbler!! The 171st species for our property!!

Can't resist showing something else we got a brief glimpse of on Saturday too. Sorry he wasn't more in the open.

It's been a good few days on the Toogoodoo!

Deer disappear--not really

Most of my pictures of the deer are taken from the front deck. They are about sixty yards away. Here's a typical view of mama and the babies grazing in the tall grasses and wildflowers of a wild patch we only mow once a year in the middle of the yard.

These are from a month ago and they are much bigger, but still fully spotted. I haven't seen them in August yet. Maybe they are in a safe spot for the opening of deer season next week and only coming out at night.

They saw me up on the deck and took off across the yard. Love that flag!

They ran to a dark shady spot even farther away and then just stopped and looked back at me.

I was able to zoom in and see them well after lightening the shot some. I think they thought I couldn't see them there in the dark.

Deer appear

The first day my new camera came in the mail, I put in the card and went running outside to try it without reading the manual or anything. I was snapping away at butterflies and flowers with a long lens on. I came around a bush and there was a deer silhouetted in the opening to another part of the yard. I stopped dead with the camera up to my eye and quickly took some pictures. She didn't move away as I expected, but just stood there stamping her feet at me. I didn't dare move, but did back off on the zoom some to try and get her less silhouetted.

Imagine my surprise when I saw this little guy on the left! No wonder she didn't run and kept stamping at me. I still had the camera up at my eye thinking that surely they would run if I moved my arms. Again, I unzoomed some more to try and get better light.

And lo and behold--there's another fawn to her right! What a thrill--even at that distance! This was the first time I'd see her with the babies. Too bad the light was so difficult and I had a 15 minute old camera that I knew nothing about. You'll have to click this bigger to see the fawns.

The fawns were so cute! We stood there looking at each other for several minutes. Then suddenly, she snorted and all three ran back into the open place behind them and into the woods beyond. I had to lighten all the pictures to see any detail, but it was t thrill anyway even to see them with just one eye through the lens.

They are so cute!

These were taken in June, so they are getting bigger now, but we still see them and they still have spots. Stay tuned.

Dear deer

We have a nice deer family in our yard. They are hidden most of the time, but come out to graze and nibble fairly often, usually in the early morning.

These were taken a couple of months ago when the family was just beginning. I think you can see here that this is definitely a nursing mother, but she had not brought her fawns out yet. We'll see them here later.

Here's mama eating highbush blueberries that we planted for the birds

And here she stops browsing to tend to an itch.

It kept bothering her--I liked this tricky pose.

Watch this space for the babies soon.