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Perhaps we were too hasty in reflexively blaming the deer.

This is not Herman, the bachelor muskrat who lives in our pond, but rather one of his numerous cousins living in the marsh. Although not renowned for beaver-like industry, the muskrats do appear to maintain active lifestyles.

Canada Geese are never welcome in the pond, but it’s hard to be angry with the goslings when they are in their maximum tennis ball phase. On Sunday, I looked out the kitchen window to see this fox stalking the goslings near the pond. If I hadn’t gone outside to take a photograph, the goslings […]

Last weekend we had first-of-the-season Redwing Blackbirds, and today we had a pair of Canada Geese on the pond. Sadly for the geese, the pond retains its protective ice covering. They made a racket but they didn’t stay long. Similarly uninterested in a human encounter was this deer we spied while looking for owls.

This weekend, Jen was in France visiting Sarah while I attended my 40th high school reunion. While we were gone, this bear brazenly sauntered across the back yard.

The frost has held off, so we’ve been able to harvest plenty of peppers with which to make hot sauce. In the background you can see a colander full of Bogmere Pippins, gathered by Jen. They are tasty, if perhaps unsightly. In less cheery news, marauding deer laid waste to our new donut peach tree, […]

Daisy was thrilled to have long walks both Saturday and Sunday. She was patient while Jen and I gathered blackberries, she found a deer carcass on both walks, and today she entered every available body of water, no matter how shallow or fetid. Sarah also spent the weekend in the field, attending HITS Saugerties, the […]

Today we attended the Sheep & Wool Festival at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds, perhaps the nation’s foremost gathering of ladies who like to knit. Among the offerings are skeins of yarn, wool socks, and lamb skewers. Also today was the Landsman Kill Trail Association’s Fall Hunter Pace, which drew about 120 riders. Here you can […]

Jen is her own harbinger of spring, braving a wet, 40 degree day to get the beans started. This weekend we saw Ring-necked Ducks (f/k/a Lesser Scaups) diving in the pond, Herman the bachelor muskrat giving himself a bath nearby, a coyote skulking around the backyard, and a raccoon in the Hoeners’ driveway.

This is about as close as one might want to come to a coyote — and possibly a bit closer. This one wandered into the yard next to the cottage while I was working.