Thursday

day 5 @ the Taj

Wow ... this week is going by so fast ... although the days seem to be dragging on.  How can that be?

Still no venison on the table for me.  I have been diligently trying to see something besides a partridge, bluejay, chickadee or red squirrel out at the TajMelHal; but no deer with my bullets name on it has been in my sights, as of today.  Maybe tomorrow will be the turning point? 


I did have a  doe and 2 fawns come in the other day ~ and a single fawn ... so I did see some deer; just not the big ol' buck I'm holding out for.  Slim actually went out and got a hunting license and is hunting tomorrow with the guys ~ something he hasn't done in 9 years.  I'm starting to develop a complex ... I'm thinking he's losing faith in his wife to put some meat on the table ... passing up on the does and fawns and all the partridge I've been seeing ... and pulling up and missing the spike on opening morning.  Seriously, I'm not shooting them ~ there's a bigger and better one out there for me to harvest.  Patience ... just a little more patience.

I did see a small weasel yesterday, chasing after the red squirrels.  I tried to take it's picture; but my cameras battery was flashing LOW and it didn't take. Of course, it stood up on a stump about 10 feet away from me posing just as cute as could be.  Also, when the camera was down a partridge was sitting there just as nice as could be too.  So... today I was ready with the camera, charging up batteries and carrying extras .. the partridge came in; but not as close as yesterday.

I saw four of them today ...
I also saw another weasel today ... in it's full winter white coloring.  This one was a full grown adult ~ almost twice the size of the one I saw yesterday.  Talk about a hard little animal to capture a picture of.  It darts around so fast in and out of the brush piles ... trying to capture the red squirrels or birds; which they prey on.

 ~ do you see one weasel or two? ~

 In the summer months the weasel is brown in color but turns white in winter, except for the tip of it's black tail.  They are also called ermine.  Usually, by this time of the year we have snow on the ground and they blend right in and can be really hard to see.

I wish I had a bigger zoom on the camera ~


The squirrels are going bonkers ~
and with good reason!

That was the first time I ever saw a weasel actually climb a tree that big.  I've seen them in smaller balsam and spruce trees ~ using the branches to pull itself up; but never a tree the size of this one.  It's a poplar tree, and doesn't have branches sticking out of it the first 20 feet up ~ the branches that you see are on the dead spruce tree directly behind it.  

I hope you have a wonder Thanksgiving.  I'll be out hunting ~ our family is having our Thanksgiving meal on Saturday - because it'll just work out better that day with the kids and other obligations that they have this year.  

Think of me as you're gnawing down on that turkey and filling your faces with stuffing and mashed potatoes and gravy.  Send me your leftovers :) or at least a pie!

Until next time ...
So it goes in my neck of the woods.
~mel
 

10 comments:

  1. Wow, you have all kinds of wildlife. Lucky you! Santa needs to bring you a longer lens, hint, hint.

    We're celebrating on Friday, cuz we're second string. First string gets Thursday. Oh, well... at least we'll get together eventually!

    Happy Thanksgiving!

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  2. I love your blog! I've never seen a partridge before, except depicted in pear trees, and now I know an ermine is a weasel. How funny that seems to me that an ermine coat is really a weasel coat! Happy Thanksgiving!!

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  3. ooh, the ermine is so cool! thanks for sharing that with us!

    good luck with the continued patience!

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  4. Dang, I just totally lost my comment~grrrr.
    Nice partridge and weasel shots...just one weasel tho, the one playing dead IS a dead poplar or birch...lol Never saw one climb a tree....that is soooo coool
    We had our Thanksgiving last night after shootin' hours. I served 15 and only 2 of them were GrandLoves.
    Ryele ate your pie....ROFL, that lil' thing ate 3 pieces.
    BlessYa Have a great Thanksgiving Day....call me when you get that big guy, better yet, bring him over like you did the last time.

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  5. I hope today is the day you say:HAPPY THNKSGIVING, there he is!
    Me? All I ever did in the woods on Thanksgiving, is EAT WELL after a day in the tree. We would roast, on a spit, a few chickens and chow down.

    Stay warm today and wishing you the best and a great meal later today!

    Love from a beautiful day in Florida.

    ps: Thanks for taking me along to the TAJMELHAL.....

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  6. How exciting! I know how pumped I was to get a photo of a pine martin. I think I would have died and gone to heaven if I got a weasel. Great photos! You have to be pretty proud of them. Congrats on those shots and I wish you luck that your next shots are bullets aimed at the big one:)

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  7. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
    Watching the animals in their natural habitat is the best part of hunting! While you guys are out tracking through the woods, I had 5 deer in the yard daily for the past week or more. Today they came in about 3:00 in the afternoon. One is a button buck! I stood on the deck and snapped pics as I was talking to them.
    Thom got some great close up pics of a weasle this fall with it's coat turning from brown to white.
    'love & hugs from afar'

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  8. Oh my what a fun blog. I envy life in the woods and all those beautiful creatures...:)

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  9. Hi there. Your picture of the weasel going up the tree sheds some light on a weasel I saw a week ago, out in the bush. That weasel appeared to be heading up a tree, prior to your picture, I had no idea they can climb trees. I live in Toronto, Canada, and earlier this year, my wife, Jean, and I were in Ireland where we came upon the rarely seen Red Squirrel. To us, they actually look somewhat like our Canadian Red squirrels, but boy, do they have long ears! We were shocked to learn that U.K. and Irish Red squirrels are contracting the pox virus from Grey squirrels, and dying. We have far too many Grey squirrels here at our feeders, but further north, near Algonquin Park, Red squirrels are much more common. We feel very lucky to have seen two Red squirrels in Ireland, and have posted some of our pictures and videos for anyone interested at: http://frametoframe.ca/photo-essay-red-grey-squirrels-canada-ireland

    ReplyDelete
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