We photographed the lion for 6 nights.  We have about 2500 gross, time-lapse, pictures of him eating his dinner right outside the fence!  He showed up as early as 5pm.  One of the neighbors had seen the mountain lion cross in front of her car the night the deer was killed.  News spread and people were actually stopping alongside the road pointing at the deer.  Ranchers want him killed because he may kill livestock.  Hunters want him killed because he kills the deer.  We called Fish and Wildlife.  They said that we live in cougar country and we need to take precautions.  If we saw him during the day or he was after me and Osker, then they would come and shoot him.  They do not   trap and relocate because it's too dangerous.  We made sure we were inside by 4pm.

After a few days, Dad put a rope around the deer and pulled it away from the road.  He said it must have weighed 100 lbs.  That night the cat came and picked up (didn't drag) the deer and took it to another spot that me and Osker found!!  The night after that he hauled it further away and we finally said game over.  


However, the icky stomach fell out and Dad tried to bury it, but didn't go deep enough and me and Osker had a good roll in it!!  I just dabbed it behind my ears.  Osker covered his chest and back in it.  We smelled really fine and were quite proud of ourselves!!  It took 3 showers to get Osker clean!

Bridge of Flowers, Shelburne MA

Gosh, I have to admit I've been lazy lately.  We've had some rain and it's so nice to snuggle in my chair near the fire!  Time to catch up:

Mom went back east to see Grandma and Grandpa for 2 weeks. Then our friend Jim came to visit.  Then Dad went to Reno to visit his buddies, and mom's girlfriend Karla came here to visit!!!  Lots of fun for all of us. 

A few weeks back one of the neighbors saw a mountain lion crossing the road at 8pm right below our barn.  That prompted Dad to buy a game camera.  While Karla was visiting, she and mom discovered a dead deer down by the creek at the north end of the property; one of my favorite swimming holes.   Without going too close to examine the deer for fear the mountain lion was watching, they assumed the cat had killed it and scampered back to the house.  To validate their theory, they took the game camera down to the creek armed with a pitchfork and hunting knife for protection.  The next morning the camera had not been triggered, and upon further inspection there was no damage to the deer.  He was a familiar 4 point buck with a very white nose and face.  After googling all about the life span and graying of deer, and how mountain lions eat their kill, they decided the deer died of old age.  We've also heard that a virus is going around killing deer.  He needed to be buried quickly because he was beginning to smell, and since Dad wasn't due home for a few days the girls knew they had to take care of it.  They like to think of themselves as farm girls who can do most things so they had a cocktail for courage, drove the tractor down to dig the grave, and used the winch to pull the old guy out from the creek to his final resting spot.  They also sawed off the antlers so he would fit better in his grave. Then they had a somber toast to show respect for the deer's life. 

We had a fun Thanksgiving weekend with lots of yummy food, friends and family!!!

Now we're back to projects. The guys installed a different radiator in the chipper, tuned it up, and it's purring!  This is the last of the crust bucket, rotting porch boards being chipped for mulch around the yard!

Our big excitement started a couple days ago when me and Osker noticed another dead deer right outside our front gate fence.  This one was a 3 point and since his gut was ripped open we felt certain that this was a mountain lion kill.  The game camera was set up again; the first night no pictures.  Last night we got great (but graphic) pictures of the lion visiting his prey.  He was there from 10:30 to 11:15 pm, then came back from 6:00 to 7:00 am!!  Wow!!  We went out to tinkle at 9:30, then had Dad take us out at 5:30 am.  He takes us on a little walk at that time!!    Maybe we should try harder to sleep through the night!!!!