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Whitetail Buck Image by funpics47

When we returned from our trip to Modesto on Tuesday, we used the upper driveway for the first time since it was paved, the ‘Beca was loaded down with people and camping gear.

We had been shopping for a mess kit and tent, since 0ur son and his friend will be doing a three day camping trip with other young men from the Twain Harte Chapel in the Pines — and they are very excited.

Just moments after the ‘Beca came to a stop, I pushed my door open, arms loaded, headed for the house and just about ran smack dab into a huge buck, standing stately near the edge of the driveway, I am sure he was wondering if I was going to stop. All I could think was, “darn, darn, darn, here is this magnificient buck standing just feet in front of me and me without a camera!” He stood tall and proud, his rack was large, at least 10, maybe 12 or even 14 points.  I was too numb to think, move, speak and especially…count.

Much to my surprise standing not two feet behind him was yet another buck. This one was much younger than the first. Both bucks stood motionless for the longest time. Have you ever sat and watched deer? They can stay still for an amazingly long period of time.  I headed for the house and when I turned around to get one last look before opening the door, they had vanished.

For the past several weeks all I’ve seen in the yard are does. We have two that visit regularly — since we haven’t mowed the weeds in our yard. (Don’t judge, it’s a BIG yard!) The deer love the vegetation and I’m happy to let them have it – I just wish they would eat more of it. Faster.

Put it this way, we could have a mountain lion living in the front yard and no one would ever know.  We have some pretty dense vegetation out there. I keep hoping some industrious young man will show up and offer to mow the grass and clean up the yard for me, but so far that hasn’t happened. I asked for a quote from some men who were working nearby but they wanted $800 to clean it up. Wow! It’s not that bad and for that price the mountain lions can stay.

I’m keeping my eyes open for those bucks to return but it could be at least a month before they make their way back here again. They seem to operate on a cycle and I believe they only came down the mountain because our temperatures have been cooler than usual. I expect them to wander back up to the high country once the summer heat hits us again.

Lily Mae update

Lily Mae gave me quite a scare yesterday. Try as I may, I could not get her to eat or drink anything (not that she is eating yet), nor was she using the litter box. This morning was another story. She had three small meals this morning and afternoon. She actually stayed awake for several hours this morning.

She is resting now and appears to be healthy and happy. I will be happy when she starts eating regular food. It’s been 14 years since I had to warm bottles and mix formula. I forgot just how much work it can be.

Take it slow folks and watch for the wildlife. If we don’t protect them, then who will?

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It’s been a rough couple of weeks for our family. With the loss of our beloved feline companion and the death of a beautiful buck in our yard, along with a few other setbacks, our entire family seems to be walking around in a stupor. It can be difficult to pick up the pieces and move on after a loss.

I’ve been enjoying our birds — what a terrific distraction from lifes troubles and cares. I’ve added a couple more hummingbird feeders, bringing the total to 5. I noticed yesterday we have quite a few young ones visiting the feeders. I’ve spaced them apart so that the hummers have better access — as you probably know, they simply love to fight and competition at the feeder can be fierce.

During the winter months, the larger hummingbird feeders are preferred since they don’t have to be refilled so often but during the summer months, I use the smaller feeders (and only fill the larger ones partially), between the ants and the heat, it works out better to clean and refill them more often.

Bird Snack Recipe

I made a nice peanut butter mixture for the birds. I used 1 cup of peanut butter added to 1 cup of millet, mixed in a couple tablespoons of molasses and 1/4 cup of rolled oats. I managed to scoop it into the suet feeder. The birds gobbled it up. We now have a wide variety of birds visiting the feeders daily.

The new green metal bird house has turned out to be a wise purchase. Not only has it held up well, but the squirrels can’t get to the black oil sunflower seeds. The hood closes up if anything heavy attempts to get at the seed.

I stopped tossing peanuts out for the Stellar Jays in a location near the bird feeders since they bully the smaller birds and won’t allow them to eat. Also, the jays are forced to stand on the side of the feeder in order to get at the seeds because they are too big for them.  By tossing the peanuts in another direction it keeps them away from the feeders, so the smaller grosbeak, nuthatches and other little birds can still eat.

The new bird house holds a lot of black oil sunflower seeds, so I don’t have to refill it quite so often — even so, they can empty it entirely in about 4-days. I hope they slow down soon, at the rate they are eating it up, I’m not certain how much longer we can afford to keep this up but it is such a joy to step out onto the deck in the predawn hours and hear the birds melodious sounds breaking the early morning silence.

Weather Report

This entire past week the weather has been unseasonably cool for this time of year. The high for the past two days has been in the low 70′s. Vacationers will want to remember to bring along a spare jacket or two, as the evening and overnight temperatures can dip down quite low. It’s currently 62.

Deer Update

I am pleased to report that along with a couple of does, who regularly stop by to eat a few weeds from our yard and grab a drink of water, I finally had a young buck come by for a short visit during the early pre-dawn hours on Sunday morning. I was afraid this buck might have come to harm as well. He is such a beautiful creature. It’s a joy to watch him wander through the woods so graceful and alert. We appear to have had a bumper crop of does this year but bucks don’t seem to be nearly as numerous.

When you are driving here in the mountains, please remember to slow down and watch for wildlife. You might be amazed at what you will see, if you are looking. Have you seen a red fox lately? A bobcat? How about a chocolate brown bear? They are beautiful creatures too.

Image via Wikipedia

The Twain Harte Homeowners meeting was well attended, with over 100 residents in attendance today at Black Oak School. Many issues where discussed, with residents expressing concerns regarding local signage and fire safety issues.

The Twain Harte Homeowners Association took up a donation for the Daffodil Fund, matching funds will be provided by a board members family, as part of the Twain Harte beautification project. Other projects include new informational signage for the Twain Harte area. The signs have already been approved by the Twain Harte board and will be put into place once approval for the new signs have passed muster with Tuolumne County.

County response to many issues has slowed to a snails pace as we discovered over the July 4th weekend, when an injured buck was shot by a sheriff and left to die on our property. I brought this issue up at the meeting but my question was never addressed, the moderator quoted time constraints as an issue. With over 400 Tuolumne County jobs having been cut or eliminated altogether, bringing the 950 county positions down to a mere 550, getting services in the future could take an act of congress. The county is due to lose another 81 jobs during the months of July/August.

The Twain Harte Community Services District (THCSD), will be seeking yet another rate increase to cover needed upgrades to our antiquated water and sewer services. The details are shared by Scot A. Moody, General Manager, on page 5 of the bi-annual newsletter available online in pdf format. I must admit having our electrical meters switched over to “Smart Meters,” wasn’t a big hit with the locals and now they are discussing switching our water meters to digital meters.

One of the projects listed is the replacement of our existing mechanical water meters with digital (green technology) water meters. The digital meters will allow the district to read the meters in a more efficient manner and will save the district manpower and fuel costs associated with this process. Additionally, the electronic meters are much more accurate than manual meters, and will allow us to provide you with better service. The District expects to save in excess of $43,000 annually as a result of this project. [Read more...]

There are even talks of putting a hydro-electric power plant online, which has been sitting idle since 1985, in order to sell power back to TUD and provide an offset for some of the planned rate increase.

The 2011 Litter Pick-Up Dates are as follows:

• August 6 at 9:00 AM
• September 3 at 9:00 AM
• October 8 at 9:00 AM
• November 5 at 9:00 AM
• December 3 at 10:00 AM

Volunteers are always welcome to assist in the clean up efforts. Many hands make light work.

The issue I was most concerned about, the string of burglaries that were occuring in the Twain Harte area, was only briefly addressed. It was reported that 29 local breakins had occured in Twain Harte over a 6-month period, the main suspect was taken into custody last month, so the issue has been put to rest.

I am concerned because a group of about 50 mexican nationals were camping at Beardsley over the July 4th weekend and were causing trouble with local campers. It was reported that the non-English speaking group was playing loud music until 3:00 a.m. and raiding campsites. The trouble ended with guns being drawn by local campers, as the rangers were powerless to act against such a large group of people.

If you plan to go camping this year use caution and get to know the campers near you. You may need to band together to protect your family and your camping gear against unwanted predators and mischief makers.