Late January 2018

The weather continues to be unusual for this time of year. After the last snowstorm we had a slight thaw followed by freezing rain. The rain left an inch of ice on the driveway and we tried to chip it out and failed. Fortunately the weather warmed and melted the ice and we have lost most of our snow cover. In the meantime ‘nuttin’ continues to happen in NewMahket.

We saw a pair of foxes in the yard and they looked very healthy. When we were clearing some brush we noticed some tracks that were unaccompanied canine tracks. We also had some tracks by the bird feeders but now we have conclusive evidence that the foxes are around.

Two Foxes

We also have hawks that hang around the yard. Wink saw a hawk catch a small bird. There are several hawks that frequent our yard.

Hawks

We hung a platform bird feeder on the porch and only put meal worms in it hoping to attract the bluebirds.  It turns out other birds and squirrels will eat meal worms. In fact we stopped because it just became a squirrel feeder.

Meal Worm Feeder

We have ordered hot pepper seed to try to discourage the squirrels so will update with the results later.

The deer have been around. Unfortunately one of the does has the mange. She has lost quite a bit of fur from her back.

Deer

Still enjoying our bucolic existence in NewMahket. All for now,

Mark and Wink