A Soldier's Silent Night

We have been seeing a draw down of troops from the Middle East...There are still some yet to be called home and even some being sent to relieve others in a zone where you aren't sure of who your allies are from moment to moment.

It is with gratitude to our Troops at home and abroad that I send you Merry Christmas Greetings...

My nephew served with the Iowa National Guard 1-133rd Ironman Battalion in Afghanistan, over the 2010 Christmas Holiday. They returned  July 18th,  for which I would like to Thank God.






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In the New Year we ask that prayers continue to rise up for the safety of those remaining on the field of service and a safe return to family and friends...


                                                Merry Christmas!!!

Housecat or Bobcat?

Some days you just want to get up on a tree stump and holler,please forgive my colloquial term for "Shout" or "Exclaim" with exuberance.The latter do NOT fit my train of thought.

On my trail camera on October 5th, this year I caught the image of what I believe to be the rear half of a feline creature of sorts, during the daylight hours no less. What is vexing me,vexing a term used by a past blog posteress Dana at The Wildwoods Woman when she got disturbed, is that the picture was a one time event and not extremely clear. Low camera batteries were leading to some eradic captures about that time.

My picture has been shown  to a trained Wildlife Biologist and I have shared it with a couple other people. The opinion as to specific feline varies. Others won't go as far as to say it could be a Bobcat, but I will. That possibility exists because one was caught on a trail camera north of our place less than a month ago.

The reason given by most is they feel it could be a feral cat...However, I haven't seen a spot pattern like that on a domestic/feral cat. Another reason they feel it can't be a Bobcat is because of the tail. They can't see a bob tail and it appears more bushy than that of a Bobcat .

My reason for seeing it as a larger animal than a housecat  is the strong design of the rear leg caught in that one camera view.

My Mystery Feline?

One person even told me they thought it looked like a picture of our Miss Kitty...I just smiled and said"you think so eah?", as I shook my head.

Have you caught anything like it on your trail cameras? Does it resemble a domestic/feral cat from your point of view?

Let me hear what you think on the matter.

Are You My Mother?

Miss Kitty the first time I saw her

This past summer, specifically July 27th,as my daughter visiting from North Dakota and I were returning from a visit with her Grandma & and truck driving Uncle in Des Moines...We came across an unusual sight in the drive in front of us,across the field from Timber Life.

The little kitty seemed lost and at the time... keeping company with the big doe standing tall for her own candid moment. As we sat and watched for a while the kitty tried to get the attention of the doe. Did she want to play or was she plying the Dr. Suess story question "Are You My Mother"? I believe this little one was a member of another household and dropped off in the country for one reason or another.

A few days later, on one of the hottest days of the week, the kitty showed up on our deck...Meowing loudly as if to share how hungry she was and needing some help to weather the elements.
 
She didn't even wander into the shade when the heat of the sun came around the house, bearing down oppressively on any creature touched by it's light.

I didn't have any cat food  so I scrambled up some eggs with a little cheese for a couple of days.

Learning a little later that dog food could be a substitute for a short time. That I could do!

Our dog Sadie has been an only pet for 3 and a half years...Now, sharing an owner is still a challenge,but at times they can share the same deck.

Miss Kitty is an outside cat, because we aren't prepared to have an indoor cat, not that she hasn't made an attempt to change that status.

Sadie is a guardian against  feral cats, raccoons, and opossums, wanting to dine on the morsels in kitty's bowl. Sadie sits by the steps ready for a chase if something comes to push Miss Kitty aside.

Slaps without a sting, and clawing at a wood post leaving no shredding,  revealed that she had been declawed.

In spite of lacking her front claws Miss Kitty is a stealthy huntress in her own right. She brought me gifts of her kills shortly after she came. I have become a trusted friend.

Not long after her arrival on one of the many walks in the yard with Sadie, Miss Kitty, joined the outing. Now, when I go to pickup the trail camera card and she gets a late start for the excursion, you can hear a mini-stampede come rustling through the dry leaves of fall until she gets to my location. I wasn't expecting her one day and Sadie was off at a distance, but still within my forward view...Turning to see what was in swift pursuit , I had to laugh, Miss Kitty was in  high speed to become a part of the group.

I haven't had a cat since I was a child, way back when.My choice to put food out was more, or less, "You aren't going to die on my watch", reaction.

Now we have been adopted and Miss Kitty has put on weight, so we will see how long nature will keep us together...

Ticks Alive!

We often think of ticks as being a scourge in the spring and summer, not so likely come the fall, especially after having some hard freezes in the neighborhood.

What we have come to realize in the last two weeks here is that ticks are a hardy sort of creature.

Sadie had found two that were in contact with her long enough to embed a couple inches from one of her ears.

I ran out of her flea and tick protection and now realize it was deflecting those little denizens through the worst of the infestation season. Thank goodness!


Not having experienced ticks this far into December I wasn't as vigilante in looking for them after our forays into the timber and pastures. It was only after petting her and feeling an unusual growth were my suspicions aroused.

Both ticks were in the larval stage of development in their life cycle when they hitched a ride. Larval and nymphs each must take a blood meal to develop to the next stage. Larval ticks, known as “seed ticks”, can be distinguished from nymphs and adults because of their small size and six legs. My reading at an Iowa State Extension publication seems to indicate this variety is the Black Legged aka Deer Tick.

It is my belief that our relatively warm temperatures have extended their reproductive capabilities - which could create bumper crops of the little blood suckers next year.

So, even if your weather has reached some extreme cold temps beware the little hitchhikers if the days return to the balmy upper thirties as it will here in central Iowa again come the weekend...In time for Iowa Shotgun Deer Season II Saturday, December 10th - Sunday, December 18th.