Wild Hogs

 Our friend, Lucas, loaned us this hog trap....we then built a fenced pen behind it so we could trap more hogs. We leave them in the trap for a day till they settle down....then release them in the pen.

 Here are 6 hogs that we caught....

We believe they are from different litters....3 are all black and 3 have brown on their faces and bellies.
They caused so much damage in our yard. We will keep trapping as long as someone wants them....

Wild Hog damage 9/30/16

I have coffee each morning out on the screened porch...about 2 months ago I spotted at least 6 big wild Hogs. As soon as I moved they disappeared. Yesterday they tore up a small spot...Jim fixed it...this is what they did this morning.

 They just roll up the sod...

 looks worse from this direction.

 You can see the sod laid back in this picture.

 Not sure what they are looking for....but we are going to put up a motion light....maybe that will scare them off.

 Jim went to work on it and this is what we have now.

If the motion light doesn't work ....we'll find someone who wants a hog or hogs for the freezer.

PepperBush is blooming.

This is probably the biggest bloom before the Red Maples in Dec.

 The Pepperbush is a very invasive plant...but the bees need all the food they can get so we don't cut them back until after the bloom.

 There is a bee keepers just down the road so I don't know if these are his or mine.

 Just look at all the flowers..you cannot see them but there are bees all over it.

 These little gals work harder than most people.

 My "blue" hive is working on drawing out wax in the 2nd super....the other two are both full. I don't know why but the blue hive always stores more honey than the "pink" hive.

 Beautiful little bee

 These bushes are about 20 ft tall

 this is looking down our road...they have almost grown it closed....After the bloom Jim will be cutting it back.

That is all Pepper bush and there is more on down the road and surrounding area.

Bringing in the babies 6.8.19

I have a hole in the ground here...I put all my biodegradeables in it.....makes for a lot of worms and the Raccoons dig them up.

 I had just put cucumber peelings in and when I looked out this little Mommy was there with her 2 babies....first time I've seen them.

This is the only picture I got...once she saw me she took them back in the woods...
Last year when the babies started coming in....the Mothers didn't let any of the other Raccoons into their territory.

First little one of the season. 6.5.16

I have been watching this little Raccoon for awhile. It always looked thinner than the rest. I thought she might have a little one somewhere. It is about that time of year.

Today she brought it out. I couldn't tell if this was the only one but they ventured a little from the tunnel and no other little ones followed.

 What a little cutie...I tossed them a couple of dog bones.

 Now the little one sees me and hides behind Mommy.

The Mother is used to seeing me and doesn't run off.

 Bones are gone...guess it is nap time for the little one.

 There is a tunnel through these weeds...sometimes I see her lying just inside....probably waiting for me to toss her a bone.
 Last year there was a Mother with 4 little ones...one with 3 little ones ...another with 2 and another with only 1. When the Mothers and their little ones came here on a regular basis....no other Raccoons dared to show up. Anxious to see how many other little guys are hiding out there.

Little Buddies....

I call these two my "Little Buddies"....  My cats eat from a feeder that is near the end of the deck...they have to jump into it...it has skirting around it to keep the Raccoons out. Each morning I change the food. It gets moldy quick in our hot humid weather....
I toss it in the weeds and my Little Buddies dig around for it and keep the weeds down. These two greet me every morning.

Look at me....arn't I cute?  You can toss me a slice of bread or an apple.

I'm still waiting.......

 This little guy waited until I finished filling the water bowls that are right below where he is standing....I'm hanging clothes on the line and he was checking to see if it was food.

These little guys are so cute....Sometimes they willl spend hours just sitting in the yard staring at the screenroom.

I don't toss the cat food where it is easy to get...they have to work for it...my little gardeners.

Squirrel Proof feeder? 5.18.16

We have a very smart Squirrel....This feeder had a round base but something knocked it down and broke it. Jim put this smaller one one....He hangs over the top and as he falls he grabs the bottom.

Because there is no room for him to sit on it...he grabs a sunflower seed and hangs upside down to eat it.

 I took these pictures out of the video...they are not very good.

 But you can see how he does it.

 I think he's pretty clever....so I dont chase him away...Let him eat what he wants...when he's done I go out and straighten the top.

I have a feeder that is for the Squirrels..but this one seems to like it here.

Painted Buntings and Indigo Buntings have gone north. 5.13.16

Every year around the beginning of Nov. these little birds start showing up. The "greenies" are either female or juvenile males

This is an Indigo Bunting. It is just molting and getting it's color. He's sitting on the Raccoon guard. It traps seed and they get some new sprouts.

It will look more like this one in a few weeks.

This is a Painted Bunting....

A Painted Bunting and 2 Indigo Buntings....one has more color.

Isn't this one beautiful?

 One of my other feeders...I think this is a juvenile Cardinal and a "greenie".

They have the most beautiful colors.

another feeder.

 2 more Indigos...

 Both are molting.

This little guy is heading to the birdbath for a drink

 He climbs up the limb...steps off and drinks his fill. I have other water for them..but he likes this one. The black pipe has a constant drip...so there is always water here. The Honey Bees, Squirrels, Birds and Raccoons water here.
We now have 3 supers on the hives....They are on this stand because this area can flood during a hurricane.

Jim put windows in the backs of the hive bodies and the supers. I can check on them without opening the hives. I have 2 deeps for broodnest. Tie downs for storms and hopefully keep out the bears. We have not seen any but a neighbor a couple miles away saw one there last year...and the way they are stripping the land to build housing developements...all the critters head for the hammock.