A Day Well Spent In The Woods

 

Come join our little expedition as we take to the woods!  Our trail guide and expert woodsman is impressed with the deer pictures that he is seeing on our trail cameras  and wants to set more cameras up across the creek..  

Previously today I stopped in at my local Walmart and picked up some more deer corn , another mineral block and another trail camera.   You can never have too many trail cameras on the homestead! 

Kawasaki says "let the good times roll" and I plan to do so!  My first large expenditure for the Lodge this year was to buy a new 4 wheeler.  We have many trails for our guests to enjoy as well as feeding stations for our wildlife and it was decided it was time to buy a new 4 wheeler.   This time I bought one with two wheel drive and I think it will work just fine for what we need it for and was much less expensive.  

Our guide has taught us  that deer will leave signs that they have been in the area and the importance of being observant of those signs.  There will be scrapings on the trunks of trees,  broken twigs as well as deer scat which is a fancy word for deer poop.  Once a year deer will lose their antlers which is called shedding so another important thing to look for is sheds.   

Deer Scat.  Not what I was expecting.  Looks like rabbit poop.  

Notice the scrapings on the sapling and the big Cedar tree above.  More signs deer have been in the area.

Here is an example of a shed.  In a couple months we are told we can start looking for sheds.  

So let's head across the creek to the spot our trail guide tells us is the place to set up the and put out the mineral block.   Mineral blocks are good for the over all health of the deer and also help with antler growth.  

The deer seem to like spending time amongst these large cedar trees.  There are signs!  So here is where we plan on setting up a couple cameras and placing a mineral block.  So let the fun begin!

Our woodsman guide and his grandson ready one of the cameras and place it on this post.  To ready your camera make sure you have put an SD card in the proper slot.  Then set the date and time as well as selecting video mode or regular mode.  We like using the video mode.  Most importantly,  remember to turn the camera on once it has been properly mounted to a tree or post.  Otherwise, you will be very disappointed the next time you check your cameras expecting great pictures of the wildlife and find nothing  Alas,  this has happened to me...  The above camera is aimed at the mineral block.  

I am attaching my camera to the trunk of an old cedar tree aimed down a path we have observed.  I put the camera about waist high..   Again,  fasten it securely,  program it and then make sure it is turned on.   Double check! 

Now it's time to do some maintenance checks on the trails.  After every wind and snow storm rotten limbs will fall onto the trails and need to be removed.  It is good to maintain your equipment and I don't like to drive over stumps and limbs especially with my new 4 wheeler.   Speaking of maintenance notice the smoke coming out of the back of the 4 wheeler in front.  That is a sign it is using oil so we have to make sure we add oil every time we use this one.  And also before you head out always check to see how much gas you have.  Running out of gas on the back of this 62 acres and having to walk back to the house is something you will only do once.  

The "log man" is the person who jumps off the 4 wheeler and pulls the limbs off the trail.  Notice here our excellent woodsman trail guide is pulling up a small tree stump and all.  The kids realized they are the ones expected to handle this job.  

While checking the trails we stopped to check out what appeared to be an old stone  walled hand dug well.  Anyway that is what we guessed it was.     I always thought wells were much smaller around and this one only appeared to be a few feet deep.  The puzzling part was it was located next to a small creek.  Why build a well next to a creek?  Truly a mystery!

It's time to do a bit more exploring in the woods before we head back to the house.  It's a beautiful day today and we are enjoying our ride on the 4 wheelers and our time in the woods.

Anyone need a pair of dentures?

Notice my grand-daughter in the pictures?  Riding 4 wheelers and spending time exploring in the woods is a gender neutral sport.   And girls as well as boys need to learn life skills.   

It's been a blast but time to head back to the house. 

 What do you do with those rotten limbs you ask?  Why build a fire and call up the wild things of course!

Is there anything better than sitting around the fire in the evening listening to the night sounds and talking about your day?  Nothing that I can think of!  I'm glad to have a place my grandkids can come and explore away from the city!  

Hopefully, these kids will want to continue to put down their electronics to spend more time out in the great outdoors and especially in the woods.  And have learned to respect wildlife and observe the signs that they have been in the area.  We enjoy our wildlife cameras and have not only seen deer but also turkey, bob cats, coyotes, coons, armadillos, and opossums.  I'm hoping no bears or mountain lions ever show up on those cameras !  

Thanks for taking this journey with us and you are welcome to come along tomorrow with us as we check the cameras.  Every day is exciting here on the homestead!  

Little Girls and Nana's Tea Sets

The Grandkids have arrived and are going to learn some new skills ...

Three of my grand kids have arrived and are spending the weekend at The Lodge.  You notice they all are heavily into their electronics.... We are just coming out of a deep freeze with wind chills of -7 so tomorrows high of 60 plus degrees will be wonderful.  And so tomorrow they will be learning some new skills.    Ones that won't involve anything electronic.   Well, except for a camera maybe!

 We will be climbing on  the 4- wheelers and hitting the woods to refill our trail feeders and check our wildlife cameras. 

And we need to mark the trails better cause I myself was pretty confused on where I was even at while doing a trial run today.  Unfortunately the trails haven't been used much lately and  are beginning to get overgrown in places. 

Hopefully,   an expert woodsman will show up tomorrow to download  some of his knowledge into these young minds.  These kids are big into downloading so they will understand that terminology...  Ha Ha Ha  Little joke there!

 Koda and Mark will be our designated wood gatherers.

 Once evening is upon us we can make a fire in the fire pit and hopefully listen to the sound of the coyotes howling in the distance.

   While checking the cameras along the trail last week we noticed lots of rotten limbs that were needing cleared off our trails and will be the perfect size to burn in  that  fire pit. 

I notice the boys  loaded their BB guns up and put them in the Honda which tells me they plan on being hunters as well as gatherers.....    or more likely they plan on doing some target practice down at the range.   Another good skill to know ...

Miss Maddy will be working on her cooking skills and making us up some chocolate chip cookies and cinnamon rolls tomorrow .

  She's asked me to teach her to sew  but we will save that skill for another day.   She is the mother of many babies who apparently are in need of clothes.

And because we are not gender prejudiced here on the homestead she too will learn the skills needed in the woods.


 My thinking is we need to  teach these kids about the joys of spending time in the great outdoors so they will want to pitch those electronic devices and get some fresh air. 

I see camp outs in their future too!  And someone mentioned building a lean to structure...  Won't this be fun!  . 

Nana sews a dress for Maddy's school play Goldilocks

Maddy got chosen to be Goldilocks for her school's kindergarten play! 

And since Nana has a sewing machine and knows how to sew Maddy calls her up telling her she needs a Goldilocks dress.   And of course Nana jumps into action.  Cause that is what Nana's do...

First the perfect yellow material has to be found.  And the pattern pieces from the above pattern has to be taken out of the package and instructions read and thread has to be found and what other necessary things the pattern says you will need to make this creation.  

Nana actually ended up combining two different patterns to make this dress happen.  

And an apron was made to wear with it too.  

Maddy had to try it on to make sure it would fit and not be too short.  I'm guessing she thinks being able to sew is some kind of magic.   Maybe when she is older I can teach her to sew.  Didn't work with her momma.   Something about the machine running away with her.  I keep saying go slow on the pedal and everything will be fine.  And keep your fingers out of the way.  Her mama isn't buying it.... 

and of course since the yellow tulips were in bloom we had to have a photo shoot.  

She decided not to wear the apron and I think the dress looks just as cute without it.  Here she is in front of her school.  Do you see why they chose her for the part of Goldilocks?  Wonder how many other little girls there were in the class with long, curly blonde locks of hair?  I'm guessing she won that part hands down...

I was concerned she would be too bashful to get in front of the crowds and say her lines but she did it like a pro.  The dress must have done the trick!  Isn't she adoreable up there?

I'm thinking she is thoroughly enjoying being the center of attention in her pretty yellow dress.  You go Goldilocks and work that crowd!

The Great Aunts throw a party for the younger generation in 2015

The Hicksie Chicks decided a good tradition would be to throw a tea party for the younger generation.  We had such a blast!  Our  Aunt Alean attended as the oldest Hicksie Chick and the older generation wore vintage hats and we painted kids fingernails and put makeup on them and they dressed up in their cutest outfits and we had lots of jewelry and glittery things.... it was a special time that I think they will remember always.  Come along with me and enjoy our little party!

The kids Great Great  Aunt Alean has since passed away but she was in her nineties in this picture and loved attending the party!   And she sat quietly while the kids put lipstick on her and painted her nails too!

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We had plenty of sparkle and makeup and jewelry and all the things you need for a successful party!

and it was the perfect time to dress in the finery fitting a special occasion

and the little girls loved having the makeup put on by the  Great-Aunts.

They may call us their "crazy great- aunts" someday but today there were pretty impressed with us!

There were painted nails and stick on nails and glittery nails and nails of every color... Nails of beauty!

And the lipstick flowed ....

and not just on the young!  And we didn't limit this party to just girls either!  

Nails are done,  lipstick is on,  time for the eyes!

And now that everyone is looking gorgeous ....

it's time to go outside and blow some bubbles...

I think we can safely say a good time was had by all.   The kid's Great Great Aunt Alean has passed on.  Kids are growing up.  And it's important we do this again!  I hope the kids remember always getting together with their Great Aunts and Great Great Alean for a time to remember always!