My I.P.O. ... otherwise known as " My Coming Out Party"

After several weeks of struggling with the develpment of my blog, finally, yesterday, I felt it was far enough along to let my family and friends in on my little secret.

So...  I wrote one of my "blanket coverage" letters and told them all how to view my newest endeavor.    

Well, wouldn't you just know?  I typed the address wrong and almost immediately got an e-mail from our daughter in PA telling me she couldn't access it.  Okay...  out went the second e-mail...  This time I got it right.  YES!

Now Folks...  it's official...  my private enterprise has now been released ...  the Initial Public Offering has been launched!  I've come out in the open and while I never expect to post daily, I do hope to post often about where we're at, what we're doing and stuff like that.  I hope you find it interesting enough to stay tuned.  Please feel free to leave comments...  (that way I'll know y'all really are out there ;-)


I read other people's blogs.  I LOVE reading other people's blogs!  One topic that seems to be of interest to several bloggers now is how to get enough exercise when the weather's bad.  A couple of years ago I heard about the Wii.  Since we didn't have a TV at first I didn't give it much consideration.  But Bill figured out how to suspend a TV under an overhead bin, and we found a  (fairly) flat-screen TV that would work for us....

The Wii system we bought came with a "balance board" ...  (maybe they all do, I don't know)

 This is me...  working out on the Wii/balance board in our "living room". This is rather a euphemism when you live in a 26.5' motorhome that has no slide-outs... 

BUT...

I usually work out in 1 hour increments....  walk, jog, steps...  and never leave my (approximate) 3' square. I can step to the side...  I can step to the back....  And it doesn't matter what the weather is outside, nor the time of day.  For me the only requirement is electricity ....  and I have been known to use the generator for my hour of excercise.

I'm not a rigid about using the Wii...  in fact, I'd rather be doing something active outside... but I really don't have any excuse not to get my 10,000 steps in each day.

As an added note...  that TV has never been used for anything except my Wii. We bought a DVD player thinking we'd use it for movies, but that was 2 years ago and we haven't gotten around to that yet. 

Another thing I've noticed about most of the blogs that I read is that you all have pets.  Usually dogs, but there's the occasional cat.  K.C., our last cat, died 3 days before we started this big adventure.  Truth is, she was 19 years old, never been off the farm, and so we rented our house specifically to have someone who would take care of her.  She would have hated living in a confined space and at the time, we thought we'd be gone only a few months.  So it was really a bit of a blessing that she passed when she did.  Our lifestyle since then really isn't conducive to having a pet.  We're in and out of various countries, we leave our motorhome for as much as month at a time to pursue other travels...  and when we volunteer we're often away from our rig for long hours.

So I've kind of gotten the reputation for not liking dogs.  That's not true...  but I will have to admit that there have been plenty of dog owners that I felt didn't deserve their four-footed companion.

I've fallen in love with a few dogs in our travels.  My favorite was "Peep", a Great Pyrenees that I met up with in the desert of Utah.  Maybe that's why I'm so taken with Snowy, the dog who takes care of the goats across the road.

Snowy has started to watch for me when I walk out to the mailbox or walk over to look at the baby goats.  She had puppies when we were here last year, but since then, I think the owners had her spayed.  So her main duty is to keep predators away from all those goats.  I think all the baby goats might be the reason she's taken to hanging out on the outside of their pen.  Would you want all those kids clammoring all over you all day?   But then, it might have something to do with that huge box of milk bones I keep in our car ;-)

Celeste and Victor have dogs... 

We've all heard the expression... "the tenacity of a bulldog"...  well, Jack is probably the bulldog where that expression came from.  He loves to play.  Bill throws Jack's various toys...  Jack retrieves them...  but refuses to give them up, even though he wants Bill to coninue playing.  I'll say one thing about Jack...  he sure has strong teeth and jaws to hang onto things while Bill's swinging him around!

The otherhousehold dog is Rylee...

Doesn't he look angelic?  HAH!  See that white spot on his nose?  He'd checked out the boards was painting the other day.  White paint of course!  Rylee is kind of the instigator...  he's the one who runs off when the opportunity comes along.  He's just a tiny little "Benjy" type dog, but he's just full of it!

Okay... enough about the dog population....

About Bill's genealogy.  He uses "The Master Genealogist" software to keep his records.  I think he's used a few other programs in the past, but likes this one best.  The owner of Wholly Genes, the software company, is Bob Velke.  He's the man who arranges the genealogy cruises we go on each year.  Bill has been working on his family history for at least 25 years....  but I guess that's another whole blog in itself.

That's all for today....

Another Sunless Day Here in Texas

I feel like I've made a lot of progress in the past couple of days with this blogging thing. (no, that's NOT a substitute for a popular adjective...  I really mean "this blogging thing").  I still see other people's blogs that I admire...  nice headers that look like they're in a picture frame....  nice use of colors for background and type...  different fonts....  Just a lot of stuff that I hope to fine-tune on this one.

Another thing I have no clue about...  Blog Etiquette.

If a person comments on your blog should you reply?  If so, do you do that personally or privately.

And... speaking of such... I am happy to see that I have some followers!  Yes!  Donna K and her husband have signed on for the duration!  Thank You....  Donna has been helpful to me... especially with her encouragement to keep at it.  My very first follower was my faithful husband Bill.  He became a follower before I even knew how to add that button to my page. 

Today is kind of overcast and dreary....  Bill's hard at it outside again...  maybe clearing brush, maybe fixing the deer feeder...  I'm not sure.  But I knew I wanted to get out of the rig for a few hours.  As usual, when I want to see the countryside, I go Geocaching.

I go loaded for bear!  I have my street pilot Nuvi to find my way around, and my Garmin 60CS to find the cache.  I'll just say this before anyone points it out... Yes, I was driving at 40mph when I took this picture....  but even you can see that there's no traffic ;-)

I had my maps and pretty much knew where I was headed...  except for the George's Creek cache.  Turned out it was the hardest...  not to find the location, but to retrieve the cache box from the other side of the fence.  The others I found are part of an intense, almost power trail, of caches (nearly 200 in all) located along the backroads about 20 miles fromhere.  Most of the ones I've found are hidden at the entry gates of gas/oil sites.  They can rage from itty-bitty ones to ... well, bigger.

My goal was to find 4 caches in all (I found 6) because I wanted our total caches found to be 1,800.   So, now that we have 1,802 caches, I'll be chomping at the bit to reach 1,900.  I can be a bit obsessive about my caching.

I didn't take any cache pictures today..  most were fairly "ho-hum"...  but, I did come across an unsavory character whom I got rather concerned about....

He was moving right along...  right towards me at first.  He didn't appear rabid or anything (although they can carry rabies without seeming sick)...  but while I think he sensed my presence,  he apparently didn't think I was a threat.  Because...  as you can see....  he just kept on walking.  (that last picture makes me think of  "Travels With Emma"....  she often closes with "The End".

I do have a bit of news today.  The company that makes the software that Bill uses for his genealogy records has been holding conferences each year on a cruise ship.  They choose a cruise that lasts only a week and the ship is at sea 3 of those days so they can have workshops, seminars, etc. but the participants can still enjoy some vacation time.

In the past we've gone to Aruba, the Mexican Riviara, Pueto Rico and other places in the Caribbean.  Well...  he got the word yesterday...  This year the cruise is going to sail the Inside Passage to Alaska!  Whoopee!!!

Bill & I took the ferry up the same route in 2001...  but, believe me...  it was NOT a cruise ship.  Don't get me wrong... it was wonderful, and viewing the wildlife and birds from the ship was fantastic.  But this will be a whole nother experience!  That will be this coming September.

I did go outside and locate Bill...

He likes the BIG toys!  Here he is doing what he absolutely loves...  playing in the dirt!

That's All For Today......

My Learning Curve is More Like a Spiral...

I have struggled much more than I'd like to admit to write a blog.  Okay... it's NOT the writing that has had me stymied...  even the picture part hasn't been THAT bad (but I still want to learn how to make a collage of pictures.....), and while those efforts have been passable, (not perfect... passable), I have been really unhappy with my efforts at the design and layout.

I've had lots of encouragement from the Donnas (thank you)...  and I got a comment from Judy, the bird lady a couple of weeks ago about blogs. 

Well...  it finally clicked what she was said.  It just never occurred to me that you couldn't manipulate all the different templates.  (hmmm...  I guess that's what templates actually are, though)...  and then yesterday I went to the "simple" design.  Heck... I should have known THAT would be the one for me!

I've had all manner of fun since THAT light bulb went on!  I've learned real important terms like "widget" and "gadget"....   even words like "Navbar" and "Favicon"... WOW!  (okay, I'm really not sure what those last two terms mean... yet)

I don't think I've mastered how to allow people to follow my blog, but give me time.....

I've enjoyed "lurking" (reading other people's blogs sort of incognito) for a couple of months or so, but this blogging thing has finally become fun.  Yes!

Just so I won't forget how to insert a photo...

Here's Bill and daughter, Celeste with the birthday fruit cookie she made him. 

That's All for Today....

February 5, 2012 Super Sunday

Neither Bill nor I are sports fans...  in fact we don't have  a TV....  so...  truth is... neither of us is sure whether the Super Bowl is today or not (or who would be playing if it is)...  but it's Sunday...  and I needed a catchy header for my blog today.

Moving right along...

Bill's birthday was a couple days ago...

Here's the Birthday Boy with his loot.  That coffee cup has pictures of him holding his great-grandson, Caleb, in Michigan and his great-granddaughter, Evie, in Ohio.  A new edition of the National Geographic field guide to birds just came out...  that was a "must have".  And... of course, the yellow cake with chocolate icing.  My musical candle I'd used for the past 10 years finally gave up trying to play a tune and frankly.. looked like it had been gnawed on.  So...  no candle to make a wish on this year.  Maybe Bill made a wish anyway....

The other day I posted some pictures of a nice buck... taken by the game camera...  It's been really humid here and the lens has been fogging up at night, creating some very fuzzy pictures.  But occasionally some come out fairly well...

These 3 does were at the feeder early yesterday morning.  Sometimes we see over

a dozen deer milling around the feeder at a time.  Quite a sight.

I put out the Bushnell game camera yesterday.  We have 2 bird feeders right outside the door of our rig and have a multitude of birds feed regularly. 

I had no idea we had these critters during the night.  I'm glad our feeders are hung on hooks about 4' off the ground (you can see the post of one of the shepherd hooks between these 2 raccoons).  I keep my bird seed in a large bin just outside our door and I'm surprised they haven't raided that.

Another night-time critter...  Jackrabbits aren't totally nocturnal but tend to be more active at night.  He's a pretty big critter....  I wonder how much havoc he wreaks in Celeste's flower gardens during the warmer months?

It's only February 5, but there are already signs of spring here in this part of Texas.  Bill planted about a ton of flower bulbs around Celeste's yard in December.  He'd dug up daffodils, magic lilies and some peonies from our place in Ohio and brought them here.  Already some of them are starting to break through the ground.

Another sure sign of spring is...

Baby Goats!

The place across the road from Victor and Celeste's house is sort of a mini-ranch or farm.  They have a couple dozen goats, some chickens and rabbits...  maybe some other stuff, it's hard to know.  But.. the does are starting to kid.  There were 7 kids when Bill  I walked over the other day... and that evening when Celeste & I were taking a walk, another doe had just (and I DO mean JUST) had a kid.  In fact, it looked like she might still be carrying another, so we didn't stay around so she could deliver without added distraction.

Since Bill & I raised goats for 18 years...  and have kept more than one in our kitchen to bottle feed..  we both enjoy the goats across the road.  Especially the new-born kids...  I'd like to hop the fence and pick one up to cuddle for a while.

One of my favorite activities is to go geocaching.  There are several very active geocachers in this area and they have hidden hundreds of caches within a half hour or hour's drive from Celeste's house.  I have this area "bookmarked" so if a new cache is hidden and comes up on line, I get an e-mail telling me the GPS coordinates.

A new cache came up last week...  It's kind of a competition to see who is "First to Find".  Bill & I went out the next day and looked around...  but...  to no avail.

That evening a local cacher was "first to find"...  so, even though we wouldn't have that honor, it still was a cache I wanted to find.  The next morning off I went...

Yep!  This is it!  It's a decoy dove with a camoed bottle attached to it's tail to hold the log book.  And it's perched in one of those pesky juniper trees.  It's quite a unique cache container and blends in so well that I'm not surprised we didn't find it the first time looking.

Speaking of looking, I'm always checking out whatever's around me.  If possible I'll drive home a different route than I went...  I look at everything!  I'm always reading street and road signs (doesn't keep me from getting lost, but I still read them).  How would you like to live on...

CHICKEN GRISTLE ROAD!!!!!

Don't you just kind of wonder who the heck NAMED this road?  And WHY???  I didn't drive down it to read the names on the mailboxes...  maybe they are every bit as interesting.....

And...  how would you like to live here?

Can't you just imagine the teen-age daughter giving her new boyfriend directions on how to pick her up for their first date?  Maybe she just says.. "I'll meet you at the mall".

Another place I pass every time I drive into Granbury is this...

Of course my imagination runs wild...  I picture the train stopping on the tracks in the road, the engineer hopping out to open the gate...  getting back in and getting the train through, closing the gate, and then walking WAY up to the front of the train to get it going again.  Afterall, there are no cabooses anymore. Meanwhile, traffic is backed up on the highway, the cattle in the field are all milling around the train...  oh yes...  my imagination goes crazy.

Now... truth is...  this is a seldom used spur that goes to a huge electric power plant.  It happens to run through a couple of ranch lands from the mainline to the plant.  In all the times we've traveled on this road we've never seen any train activity.  But...  it's still fun to imagine....

While I wander around the countryside geocaching and stuff like that, what is Bill doing?

Victor built a new garage when we were here last year and it isn't finished yet.  He recently had insulation sprayed on the ceiling and upper parts and now the work benches, tool boxes and shelves can be installed.  Bill is building shelves that will go in the loft in the back area.  I think he finished them yesterday - even the painting - so I'm sure he'll move on to another project soon. 

In fact, with spring well on it's way, I think erecting the martin house is next on the list.

But that's for another day...

February 2, 2012 Day Trip to Ft Worth

Bill has been working nearly every day with Victor on the new garage.  I thought it was time to take a break, and since tomorrow's Bill's birthday I wanted to go in to Ft Worth to do some shopping.  My Amazon order came yesterday, so I was ready for the big trip.

The new (6th) Edition of the National Geographic Field Guide to Birds was published recently and I knew Bill would like the latest copy.. 

But as much as he loves this field guide, it CAN be improved...

Same book...  only "Before" and "After".  When we first purchase the book, we don't even open it until we take it to Kinko's and have the original binding cut off...  holes punched in and have it spiral bound.  (It is harder to do this on books that have been used as they develop a curve in the spine and it makes them hard to cut evenly)

Now the book can lay flat and stay opened to the page you want.  We've had this done to field guides for years and love the convenience.  Okay...  bring on the birds!

So now you know what Bill got for his birthday present... (don't tell him...  but I plan to bake the cake tomorrow...)

The trip to Kinko's was one of my main reasons for the trip to Ft Worth.  But also we needed to make a trip to Cabela's.  I know a lot of women would give their eye teeth for a trip to a Neiman-Marcus.  Nuh-uh...  give me a trip to Cabela's anyday! 

Cabela's is a fabulous outdoor/sporting goods store.  They are based out of Nebraska, but now have stores in about a dozen other states as well.  Whenever we are anywhere close to one we always stop; in fact, they are very RV friendly and we've stayed overnight in more than one Cabela parking lot.

I bought our Moultrie Game Camera at the Cabela's in Scarbourgh, Maine.  We used it some, but then were on the road  until last week. I had it packed away.  Got it out...  and...  nothing.  For some reason it just quit working.  We knew about the Cabela's store just north of Ft Worth and that we could take it back there for an exchange.  They have a great Customer Service Department and all but bend over backwards to have satisfied customers.

Cabela's stores are basically the same...  the areas around the store let you know, without a doubt, that you are in an OUTDOORS store...

Actually, each Cabela's store has some piece of sculpture that is indicative of that particular area of the USA.  This one has an outdoorsman roping an elk.  All around the store's entrance are stacked kayaks, canoes and boatsof all kinds.  You might see ATVs or other means to get around in the boonies. 

The interior of the stores can vary, but, believe me, if it's ANYTHING that can be used outdoors, they probably have it.  Camping equipment, hunting, archery, fishing, clothing, and more than I can even think of.  They even have outdoorsy-type furniture for lodges, cabins or if you just want that rustic look.

BUT...  the showcase of most Cabela's is...

A HUGE... usually 2 stories high...  display of  "stuffed" animals in their natural habitat.  This is a display worthy of being in a Natural History Museum.  Every type of animal native to the USA is showcased.  They even have trout pools with live fish.

This moose stands about 6' high (or more) and is part of the display.  Each animal (and even the trees and other flora) have plaques telling you what they are.

I liked this black bear robbing a beehive.  Those are "bees" all over his head and shoulders.  How realistic can you get!

I could post about a hundred pictures or more of various animals, but will move on to another area of the store...

This store has a huge room that is filled with displays of animals either native to Texas or ones that have been introduced for various reason.  Hunting is a huge sport here and there are many game preserves that import exotic animals for the sport. 

There are numerous diaramas of wildlife...  like this bull elk bugle-ing ...

And how about these wild turkeys...  and bighorn sheep?  I think there's even an orxy in the background (one of those imported critters)..

But one of the most impressive things about this room is...

The TROPHY BUCK displays.  This display is of bucks with "unusual" antlers.  That buck on the left was killed over 60 years ago...  There is a "Boone and Crocket" organization that records the sizes of antlers.  These hold the record for being the 6th largest rack in the world.  All of the walls are lined with trophies such as these.

Whether you're a hunting avocate or are totally anti, I'd think you'd have to be impressed with the whole store.  Some Cabela's have aquariums and fish displays.  This one might, but I guess I was too busy looking at everything to check it out.

Living in an RV,  we really don't have room to collect and store large items.

What better souvenier to collect than a smashed penny?  Cost you 51c (and you get the 1c back...  smashed flat)...  I love it that all the Cabela's have a smashed penny machine with the penny depicting that particular store.

And...  lots of the stores even have a sit-down restaurant.  The menu at this restaurant featured elk, bison, or wild boar burgers as well as the usual restaurant food....

That's my elk burger on the left, and Bill's bison burger on the right.  We split the french fries ;-)  We enjoyed our nice, tasty lunch.

So...  I got my camera exchanged...  we spent a couple hours wandering around the store, and even had lunch...

I bought one item...

A tee-shirt

If you can't read it I'll tell you... it says...

"I Like It Here"

And then we headed back to Glen Rose.

That's All for Today...

January 31,2012 Red-cockaded Woodpeckers

I got interested in writing a blog after finding "Blogspot" on the internet and then finding a great daily blog by Judy Bell... "Travels With Emma".   We've never met Judy, but know that she's a volunteer with the National Wildlife Refuges, an avid (and very knowledgeable) birder, and that she often writes about places we've either been or know about.  I hope our paths actually cross one of these days.

The other day she mentioned... rather off-hand... about some experience with the Red-cockaded woodpecker.  This got me to thinking about when Bill & I were volunteering at Carolina Sandhills NWR in the fall of 2003.

Wildlife refuges usually are established to save, or at least help out, an endangered species.  There are over 550 refuges in the USA and each one has a focus... a specific plant, animal or habitat that in in danger of becoming extinct.  Some refuges have more than one focus...  more than one species live there that are in trouble.

Carolina Sandhills, which is located in South Carolina, has the Red-cockaded woodpecker.  This little bird will nest only in mature longleaf pines...  and these pines exist now only in very scattered patches of managed forest.  The Carolinas, Georgia, parts of Florida and some States along the Gulf are the only places this bird lives.

I can't remember all we did while there, but as often is the case, I got involved in the education programs that the refuge offered.

We often had students from colleges and even high schools come to the refuge on field trips to learn how we managed for the continued existence of this bird.

This biologist is showing the kids an artificial nesting box.  To encourage birds to nest, the biologists would construct a nesting box, cut out a hole in the pines, insert the box and ... voila! the bird doesn't have to do all the work of constructing a nest.  Bill did some of this work while we were here....  but I couldn't find any pictures of him way up on a ladder inserting a nesting box in a tree.

I can't remember what this instrument is for but I think it was to be able to see into the nest while standing on the ground.

We always had kids who were interested in what was going on.  The biologist would take the time to explain about prescribed burns and other means of management.

This isn't a really good example, but this is a pine tree with a nest in it.  The white stuff oozing down the tree trunk is sap.  The bird uses this kind of tree because of the sap.  The sticky sap keeps away predators...  including insects that could infest the nest. 

The white band painted around the trunk of this tree indicates that it is a tree with a nest in it.  Not all the trees with paint have an active nest.

This is where my story gets interesting....

Each bird nesting in these woods has been trapped, banded, and released.  The above picture is nearly actual size.  Each of those pieces of colored plastic is a band that indicates something...  sex, age, nest... whatever.   The colors are uniform no matter which bird wears the bands on its legs.  A bird can have 2 or 3 bands on each leg...  each one indicating specific information.  They are very light weight and do not deter the bird's habits in any way.

This particular forest had a nice population of birds.  The Great Dismal Swarmp refuge was in need of a couple of birds to replenish their breeding stock after a hurricane had destroyed some habitat.  The refuges work together on some projects.... 

Enter Bill and Sharon...

The biologist needed to trap 2 birds for this project.  While they are fairly certain which bird lives in which tree, our job was to go into the forest before dusk, sit under a tree and watch a specific tree.  We were to watch the bird fly in for the night...  and record the colors of bands on each leg.  We don't have to do anything about actually capturing the bird...  that will come later...  so...  each night we'd find a cozy spot to sit...  and we'd wait for the homeowner to return.

This was the easy part...  they even have a distinctive "call" so we'd know when the bird was in the area.  Then...  quicker than the wink of an eye...  that little sucker would zap right into that tiny opening.  In for the night...

Bill would say...  2 year old female...  bird #1786...   or some such thing.  I would say...  HUH?  You actually SAW the bands????  On BOTH legs?????

This went on for the whole week of survellience.  I mean, we DID use binoculars and all, but I NEVER saw the bands on those tiny legs. 

We (or rather Bill) did gather enough information to determine that the biologist would be okay trapping this particular bird (and that's another story)...  and he did...  and that bird went off to Virginia to live happily ever after.

I know...  I call myself a birder.  And I love watching all manner of wildlife...  but... I'm not kidding myself.  I'll never be an expert.  But you know what?  The birds I watch don't care...  as long as I put out the black oil sunflower seeds.

That's All for Today....

January 30, 2012 What Goes Bump in the Night?

Bill & I are at Celeste's, here near Glen Rose, Texas.  Last year Victor made a "real" RV site for us about 100' from their house.  He and Bill put in a waterline, electric box and dump station, and while we were in Maine last summer, Victor had a gravel "pad" put in when he had his driveway graveled. 

The weather has been too windy to put out our awning...  and too wet to put out our big outside rug.  That bin outside the door holds my bags of birdseed...   the garbage can at the rear of the rig holds our recyclables.

You can barely see Celeste's house at the right side of the photo.

No matter where we go, if at all possible, we put out bird feeders. 

We have 2 of these Shepherd Hooks outside our motorhome that presently hold 4 bird feeders and one bird bath (more like a drinking pan). 

Often there are a hundred or more goldfinch feeding.  They're in their winter plumage now, so you might not recognize them as goldfinch.  We also get house finch, cardinals, chickadees, titmice, and juncos.  Wrens and mourning doves come around but neither are interested in the feeders.  And lately we've been seeing some Eastern Bluebirds.  There are nesting boxes hung in various locations on the property, so they are probably checking those out.

For the past couple of years I've been putting out Game Cameras where ever we are.  These are hardy enough to be outside in the weather and they are activated by being motion sensitive.  In other words, they only take pictures if they sense movement.  Kind of like an outdoor light that comes on when you walk on to the property. 

The cameras we use take color photos...  and we've programmed them to also record the date and time of day. 

This is a daytime picture taken around 3pm yesterday afternoon.  They can be programmed to show the temperature, the moon phase and location of the camera.  We have both a Bushnell and a Moultrie, and I've worked with Cuddeback and Reconnex.  Depending on how many bells and whistles you want, the base price ranges from around $100 to...  $500 or $600 on up.  We've found that the Bushnell (around $150) is every bit as good as the high end Cuddeback.

There are a lot of deer in this area.  We've seen as many as 15 does milling around the deer feeder in the above picture. That particular feeder is battery operated and spins out a measured amount of corn on a programmed schedule.  Victor has one in the backyard and this one...  which is a couple hundred feet in front of our motorhome. 

There is also a washtub full of water  they use as a drinker at this location. 

I just got around to putting out the camera yesterday and here's what visited the feeder last night:

This nice 8 point buck visited several times during the night.  Since this isn't rutting season he'll travel alone now. 

Well, I guess he did get some company.  This big jackrabbit also visited several times during the night.  By the way, the buck is a white-tail deer...  the same kind found in the eastern US. 

The pictures appear as black and white because they were taken during the night hours. 

I felt pretty good about picking up pictures of these critters within the first 24 hours out.  It will be fun to see what else goes "bump in the night" as time goes on.

All for Today....