An Update on our Orphan

Jan sent us this update from the Aspen Valley Wildlife. This is our orphaned fawn (Fawn Bondi) who is now living at the Centre.  Seen here with one of her friends. 
It's wonderful that she is doing so well, it's wonderful that she has a close companion. Nothing can replace MOM, but at least she isn't all by herself!

Napster, our famous painting cat, is currently offering discounted rates on his artwork as he fund-raises for the fawn. He has $200 so far, but baby food for Bambis is pricey stuff and we are trying to raise more. He can be reached at his Blog, www.napsterart.blogspot.com or by emailing Nancy through the Bondi Village Resort website.

Aspen Valley can also take donations by interac, or through cheques or in cash if you are going by... Please help us make sure this little one gets to grow up big and strong and healthy!

Stealthy Little Deer

It's hunting season again. We permit a very limited number of hunters on our property -- friends and relatives -- but we are adjacent to a hunt camp, and you do hear the sound of guns these days.

Why would we let anyone shoot a deer on our land? Well, here's the thing. We have been partipants in the provincial Forest Management program forever. Over the years, the directives have changed with this program -- once upon a time, they wanted the slash or tops cleared up, for instance. Now they are directing that slash and tangles be left in the bush. They are recommending something called Exclosures, which are in fact small fenced off ares within the bush, all designed to give the young trees a better chance to get up above the browse line. In short, there are too many deer in this region to sustain themselves, and they are causing damage in the forest. This is in part due to artificial feeding programs that indiscriminately feed large herds of deer through the winter, boosting their numbers. These are often poorly thought through -- providing high protein feed to deer in winter, boosts their metabolism until they require far more feed than a deer surviving on tree buds and cedar browse would require. Every spring, we find deer that have gone down to starvation. Personally, we'd prefer a wolf pack. Or a bullet.

We have deer that bed down every winter in the horses' hay -- but this is timothy hay, not high protein alfalfa, and the only harm done is to Nancy's pocketbook.

While we don't hunt ourselves, we have no issue with careful, legal hunting with the intent to use all of what you shoot. It's poachers we abhore, and we prosecute them to the full extent. Having lawful hunters on our property helps to discourage poachers, too, so that's a good thing.

And it is not as easy as it sounds to 'go hunting.' The lads are out there today, in sleet. They can easily spend the whole day, and see deer, but never be in a position to 'get the shot.' It isn't uncommon for the hunters to come home empty.

However, the boys are always getting new toys. This year, our cousin was the first to put a Stealth Camera in the bush, along the deer run where he has his stand. Now these cameras work like this: they can 'see' in the dark. They have an infrared beam... break the beam, and the camera takes a picture. Now the hunters are like the fishermen -- who could once spend all day happily fishing, coming home with an empty creel but a renewed and refreshed outlook on life, with blood pressure down, and dispositions sunny. Then they got fish-finders. Now they can see the d*** fish down there... but can't get them to bite. They spend the day, still coming home empty handed, but with their fishing rods tied in bows and their blood pressure steadily climbing. Dang fish... There they are... right there... and they won't bite!!!

Now, with the help of the stealth camera, the hunters learn nifty facts. Like our cousin Ross, who got over 300 hits on the camera in one night. Now, some of them were raccoons -- he needed to raise the beam a bit. But still, he got 155 pictures of deer. Bucks with 8 points. 6 points. Spike horns. Does. Fawns. A buck with a broken antler. Did he see any of these during the day, while sitting out there int he bush... Well, some of the does -- but he has a buck tag, so he can't hunt the does... none of the bucks. But he knows they're out there... somewhere...

Rick and Dave have a camera set up this week. It took this photo just after midnight.
The Conservation Officer laughed at Nancy one year, when he dropped in to find 10 deer resting on the lawn. "I see," he said, "you've got it figured. The deer are on the lawn all day while the hunters are in the bush, and then, come evening, you switch them around." We all laughed at the time, but looking at the photos from these cameras, he has a very valid point.

Now last week, we had some incredible weather -- spiking into the 20's. Some of our hunters confessed that they had a little nap out there in the bush, just enjoying being outside and alone in the fabulous weather. For most of them, that experience, being out, being in the forest, is far more important than the hunt itself.

Fishermen, hunters... fishfinders and stealth cameras aside, never forget... it's about the journey.

Crying "Wolf" and the real deal

Dave and Mike are here for the Thanksgiving weekend -- Dave is enjoying the break from Georgian College, and Mike has been working for us on weekends, after working here for the summer. They are currently busy building a fence along the portion of the road that backs onto Red Pine and Longside cottages. We used to have a thick screen of cedar and pine trees along here, that provided an excellent buffer -- both visually and soundwise -- from the road. Over the years, with the increase in the number of deer here, that cedar buffer has thinned... and thinned... and thinned.

The trees are all still there, all doing very well. Unfortunately, there are no branches for the bottom five feet or so of the tree, so all the 'buffer' is now up high. This looks lovely, but does little to fulfill the original purpose! And of course, as the buffer got thinner, the amount of traffic on the road got busier. Our solution is to put up this fence, at the far edge of the trees, where it won't be obvious and will blend in, which will cut any noise from the road and provide us with the privacy we were starting to lose along this portion of the property. It should be a win-win, as they say.

You can see the trimmed line on the trees all the way around the lake. Our guests frequently ask what causes this, and one dear soul asked Brian how long it took him to trim the bay, did he need a special boat to stand on for that, and was it necessary to use a cordless trimmer? The answer to all of the above is: No. It is simplicity itself. The line is the height of a deer standing on snow. The deer have eaten out much of the understory in our forests, due to the great number of deer currently hanging out around here. This is not the best thing for the forest, but it is certainly a bonanza for the local wolf pack.

This pack has been in close all summer, providing us with some wonderful "howls" in the evenings. Lately, we've been seeing two young wolves who are not with the pack, for whatever reason. One of them appears to have mange -- and since Nancy is particulary unimpressed with having that on the property, she has been putting out medicated bait in the back field to clear it up. (The problem with that being that it is notoriously hard to get wolves to check their calendars and show up on time for medical appointments) These two young'uns have been seen frequently, and in close. One of them keeps showing up early in the morning, looking yearningly into the chicken coop (where the Bobs are all safely behind wolf-proof barricades).

So today, when Mike ran into Nancy's office to tell her there was a young wolf up at the barn, watching the chickens, she didn't stop to inquire further -- off she shot, out of the house, past the garage, to the Bob Rescue!

Only to have David lob a water balloon at her, because it was all a practical joke the boys had dreamed up. (The balloon was not tossed so it would hit her, but it still got her airborne like a startled wild turkey!) The chickens thought it quite entertaining, as did Holly, and Napster the Cat...

Nancy is still calming her pulse. The young wolf, out there somewhere, stuffed full of bacon ends and mange medication, is silent on the whole business...

Lookin' Good!

It begins in the spring, with the young bucks coming onto the lawn with their antlers just beginning to show. Gradually, they get bigger, covered with thick velvet, like this young gentleman grazing near one of the cottages.

About this time of year, however, the bucks are getting ready for the mating season, and the first rule of that game is to have the antlers polished up and looking good.
As the velvet dries and begins to fall away, the bucks rub the antlers against small trees and shrubs -- down by the pond we have lots of examples of these antler polishing trees. Finally, the last shreds of velvet are gone, and the antlers are ready to be revealed...

This is our same young buck, up by the basketball court, filling his tummy with crabapples, and showing off his antlers for the girls. And for us.

We think him very handsome. Even if he is eating our apples...