Deer

The deer are out and about with the warmer weather.  Yesterday we saw six at one time in the backyard and near the feeder, two bucks with little knobs on their heads and four does. 

Some of them look a little “scruffy” after a long, cold winter.  Like maybe they need a good curry combing?  I don’t think we will get them to stand still for that, they are still very skittish.  They do seem to love the freshly cut grass, and come out right after Rick has mowed. 

 

They are interesting to watch, sometimes they are very playful.  They definitely have a “pecking order” in their herd.  Some of them are very dominant, headbutting the others to bring them in line. 

 

Mushrooms

Wild morel mushrooms grow on our land.  They usually pop up in April, but the season is a little late this year with the cold spring. 

Our friends Karla and Larry showed us which ones to pick so we don’t poison ourselves.  Actually morels are quite distinctive, so they are easy to identify.  

They are expensive in the stores so we feel very fortunate to have some here.  Karla and Larry picked over 800 of them here last spring.  They have great flavor and make wonderful soup.  It is kind of fun to forage for our own wild food!