Uffdah. It is almost that time of year again.

That time of year when I am banned from the woods for 9 days total. As the little video shows above, the bucks are pretty silly with the rut season. This guy is a hoot and loves to stare right into the camera.

I've had a camera in this spot of my woods now for nearly 6 years. Over the years, I've spotted every creature we have in the forest using the trail near this camera. Coyotes, Bobcats, Turkeys, Racoon, Possum, and of course deer. The deer like to nap in this spot also. 

They don't seem to mind the camera at all.

Over the years, I've gotten some rather amusing photos.

I am not opposed to deer hunting at all. Their herds do need to be culled. On my morning walks now, I generally 'jump' up a herd of 6 to 10 does by just walking up my driveway. Farmers see them as pests, motorists see them as hazards. Insurance companies see them as headaches.

And then? I love to watch them. I love to photograph them. 

What a conundrum. I have a love/hate relationship with them don't I? 

Yesterday, revamped the fencing in area where I keep the equine during gun season. It is close to the house and we can keep a close eye on them.

Sundance is always curious no matter what I am doing. Yesterday she followed me around the winter pasture while I pulled t-posts and straightened them before the ground froze. 

What better time than the present to fix it?

Did you know that mules like pumpkins?

They do. Each year I've tossed my pumpkins before they rot into this pen. Immediately, it draws the girls in.
They demolish the pumpkin and tromp the seeds into the ground. Come spring, they have planted and fertilized my new pumpkin patch.

After I did winter repairs and set up the water tank heater, I headed up the lane to the meadow out back. Something, probably that large buck had torn hot wire down and busted six insulators. Ahhh, rut season, how do we love you???

I fixed everything and put the wire back up. 

In the valley, I often have to replace a lot of insulators in the spring. I don't keep the fence hot in the valley during the winter as the mules don't have access to that area.

I wonder how many more times I'll have to fix fence up in the lane this winter?

So this is the time of the year where I drag out a Lego build for the 9 day gun season which includes Thanksgiving.

This year we will be constructing the Medieval Village. 

Since we don't do anything for Thanksgiving [I make lasagna and we have pie]. I like to pick a project that I can do with hubby. I've found that hubby loves sorting pieces for me by color. He does look at the instruction booklet and sometimes he can catch mistakes I make.

Last year, we completed our Christmas Village. I'll take that out of the Hutch some time in December to decorate things for Christmas.

In the mean time, I have a few things left to do outside and in the forest before the hunters come on each side of us and begin the season of gun hunting.

Our property is 500 feet wide and 1/2 mile long. So the reason I don't dare go out is because our place is too narrow to escape stray shots. And believe me, on opening day I spend as little time outside as possible.

However, hubby used to be our hunter and he would always get one or two for us to supplement our table in years past. I'll never forget helping him put up a last minute deer stand the evening before the 2010 deer season. Link below....👇

A Hateful Woman or Stupid Man invented the Deer Stand