Category Archives: wildlife

Returning deer

February 26, 2020Sunnybook Farm, wildlife, Wisconsinsusanmanzke

They came from a distance, but their movement caught my eye.

At first, I thought it might be turkeys. When I got out my binoculars, I found it wasn’t feathered friends, but furry ones.

The deer have shown up again on Sunnybook Farm.

The deer to the right looks like it has two heads.

I always appreciate it when deer move a bit closer to our farmyard. Our woods are about a mile off the road.

When I went to feed barn cats, I made a noise and the deer scattered.

It was nice to have them near, even for a little while.

I’ll have to keep my good camera on the ready so I can again zoom in on far-off wildlife. My phone camera is good for closer animals, but not those who keep their distance, like these whitetails.

Daily visitors

January 30, 2020Columns, wildlifesusanmanzke

The birdfeeders Bob made years ago are right outside our kitchen window. Having feathered visitors is a blessing in winter. I hope the seeds I put out are also a blessing for the birds.

It’s a good thing our barn cats are so well fed. They don’t bother the birds at all.

Sudden adoption

September 29, 2019nature, pets, wildlifesusanmanzke

This multiple adoption was not in my plans. It wasn’t until we found abandoned kittens in the barn that I became a mother again.

It took some work getting to the kittens. The mother had left them behind two heavy motors in the old shed shop. Lucky for them they were old enough to pop out from behind the motor so I could grab them one at a time.

There are four in total and they have totally taken over my life.

First, they were housed on the back porch but today they are in our kitchen. This is not the ideal setup for raising kittens. I just hope I’m up for the job. They have made it through a week of bottle feeding.

Keeping them fed is hard enough. The worst part is keeping them clean. Mother cats have a tough job. I just wish their mother had raised them. Hopefully, we’ll have lively kittens to send to new homes in the future. Adopting four might be a bit much for Bob and me.

Nature’s beauty

September 1, 2019nature, photography, wildlifesusanmanzke

I thought I’d share another deer photo taken on our critter cam.

This beauty came to munch on an apple and posed right in front of our camera.

That velvet will be coming off pretty soon. It will take a bit of time for his antlers to shed the outer coating.

I’m afraid his antlers will attract hunters.

I hope to see him again after hunting season.

Bombs away!

August 28, 2019Bob, gardening, Weather, wildlifesusanmanzke

The apples on our trees are coming down. A wicked wind in hurrying them off the trees.

Bob wants to mow the grass under the trees, but he can’t. The apples are in his way.

What to do? Pick them up.

Bob can not pick up off the ground, so he uses his grabber. I just lean over and pick up as many as I can.

We both had to watch for falling apples. A healthy wind was bombing us with the fruit. Good thing the apples are rather small this year. These don’t hurt so much when they drop on our heads.

Hopefully, we’ll get some good apples off the trees before they all blow down.

Wonder what we do with the apples that have fallen? We take them down the lane and toss them in an unplanted area where we just happen to have our critter cam set up. It isn’t our fault that deer and other critters come and eat some of the discarded fruit.

Susan Manzke

Writer, Speaker, All-Around Good Person