The Acorn Woodpecker

The noisiest woodpecker around, the acorn woodpecker never seems to stop squawking.

While sitting in my tree stand during archery season, a couple acorn woodpeckers kept me entertained while perching within a few feet of me. Here are some of the better photos taken.

These woodpeckers are very animated.

Their backs are coal black, making them somewhat difficult as subjects.

This one flew into the sunlight and landed for a drink at the pond.

 

These birds are very entertaining. They are by far the most common woodpeckers on our ranch.

 

 

Dog Tales

One-dog man climbs hiking trail and hears a woman’s voice above him.

“My dogs aren’t social,” says two-dog woman.

“OK,” replies one-dog man, “I’ll hold my dog here while you pass.”

“That’s my trail,” answers scowling two-dog woman, “I made it.”

“OK,” replies one-dog man, “I’ll go around you.”

Hmmm……

Same day, different trail.

One-dog-white-dog man sees black-dog woman approaching with three young children.

White dog runs to greet black dog. Black-dog child yells, “Stop!”

White dog stops and black dog approaches. They begin to sniff each other. Black dog and white dog smile.

Black-dog woman says, “Can they pet your dog?”

One-dog-white-dog man replies, “Yes.”

Children and dogs smile.

Three-child-black-dog mother says, “Tell the man thank you.”

Children chorus, “Thank you.”

One-dog man says, “You’re welcome.”

Opening Day A-Zone 2013

Photos by Joe DiDonato

It was a perfect weekend for deer hunting and the results show it . Here are a few shots provided by our hunting partner Joe DiDonato.

We saw plenty of bucks. These two were typical, but we saw some bigger ones as well.

Joe started things off early with this buck.

Rob still hunted all morning for this buck and found him about 1:00 PM.

After a few missed opportunities, son-in-law Brett killed his first buck on Sunday morning.

It was a fun and exciting first weekend. We’re all eating venison now. I’ll provide the details of Brett’s hunt soon. He had some great chances and experienced a lot of hunting in a day and a half.

Fritz’s Cabin Gets a New Look

It’s amazing what a well financed crew with some decent equipment can accomplish.

And here’s the after:

 

Only the cabin remains. Next comes the fencing and an addition to the cabin. What a relief.

NYC Fireman Tommy Feaser Joins the Hunt

Here’s a brief bio for our fifth blacktail hunter.

“Firefighter Thomas Feaser was born and raised in Staten Island, New York.  He is a 27 year veteran of the New York City Fire Department.   Tom spent most of his career with Ladder 113 in Brooklyn, NY and was with that department on September 11, 2001 which miraculously the entire company survived the devastation. In December 2005, Tom received a “New York’s Bravest Award” and the David De Franco Water Rescue Metal for his heroic action of braving ice, wind, rocks and water to rescue a drowning woman in the Kill van Kull , a channel of water separating Staten Island and Bayonne, New Jersey.  Mr. Feaser retired in 2010 and enjoys spending his time with his family in Staten Island and in Dingmans Ferry, PA.”

We look forward to welcoming Tommy on August 15.