Bear Poop, Tide Detergent, Moth Balls

Well there it was... Friday the 13th!

We had 19 degrees in the morning and it felt a bit cold. I took a walk to the creek just after sunrise to see if there was any ice formations or tiny ice crystals on the rocks and grass.

I found one spot where the splashing water caught on a plant and formed a beautiful little ice formation!

The morning light in the creek was really quite beautiful and I took my time exploring. I'm glad I did. 

I found this:

Do Bears Poop in the woods?

Of course they do!

And they do it in the middle of a creek too!

I'm pretty sure this could be the same bear I saw while picking berries this summer. Generally the bears move on from our area to look for a mate. 

Black Bears are seen around here once in a while but generally it is a rare sighting, unless the population up north forces more bears south.

Anyway. The bear has stopped here more than once. There were a few piles on these rocks...well unless another bear decided to use this spot a toilet too? The under layer which is older is corn, the top layer is apples. There was another pile, but I didn't think you needed to see that.

Interesting! I thought it was a pretty cool find. 

I woke up early with a start in the middle of the night and for some odd reason I thought of Moth Balls. 

I'd used Moth Balls to deter the Ground Hogs from infesting my shed last year. They were making nests under a pile of old lumber. I had tossed Moth Balls under the lumber and dumped ammonia on top of the lumber and around their holes. They abandoned my shed within a few days. 

It smelled awful too, so I opened the doors and turned the exhaust fan on to keep it from being overwhelming.

So what about Moth Balls? 

It is a perfect critter deterrent. I use a few moth balls around the engine of the riding lawnmower's engine to keep the mice from chewing on the wires. 

How would Moth Balls work on deer? 

Rich said scented detergent would repel deer too. 

So being sly, and not wanting to deal with the guy who wants to shoot deer as they come up the trail out of my woods and towards where he parked his stand..........

I took some Tide Soap powder and spread it on the logs in the 'shoot' zone. Since we had a skiff of snow, it looks exactly like snow!

I added Moth Balls to the area, placing them here and there. I didn't need many and the smell was nasty. 

I had some old Tide detergent I'd purchased by mistake. Someone told me to use the powder in my machine. One, it doesn't work well, and two, I bought scented Tide. We don't use any scented soaps or softners at all. 

I can smell someone who uses scented laundry soap 20 to 30 feet away now. 

Being the Good Neighbor, I will call my 3 neighbors and let them know that the Bear is still hanging around.

I doubt he/she is a big concern. But I can't wait for some snow to hit the ground so I can do some tracking. I think I enjoy working out the stories that tracks of animals leave in the snow.

I would love to 'hunt' with my camera and get this fella in a nice shot I could frame.

Winter Wonderland

Outside Monday:

The mules went to play in the fresh snow. Apparently snow baths are very refreshing.

As is snow sleeping:

We had inches of snow. Beautiful wet heavy snow.

During evening chores I did my usual while the mules were eating. As the temps dropped the top layer of their winter coats had some ice on it.

I pulled back the hair and dug in deep to the skin.
It was nice and fluffy and dry.
Sunshine ignored me as I did this. I check everyone each day as I owe it to these creatures who have taken me safely on rides for nearly 20 years.

The next morning the sun appeared over the trees and dropped into our hollow. The mules ate and sunbathed.

The roads were pretty awful as I made my way to town and to CrossFit. But I decided that I'd take a slow hike after I got back and explore the valley. Just a short walk of course!
The landscape had been turned into a Winter Wonderland.

My short walk became a longer walk as I took extra time to stop and enjoy the skies and the 'icing' on all of the branches above me.

The breeze would blow above us and snow would gently fall down on Charlie and I.
In the shot below you should be able to see the snow cascading down in the right side of the photo. It really added a bit of glitter to the outdoor scene!

I will be curious tomorrow after another subzero night as to how the creek will refreeze.
Yesterday was wet and sloppy. This morning anywhere the sun doesn't hit is iced!

Rich isn't feeling well again so I'll be spending most of my time indoors. I thought it would be fun to work on some Still Life shots of the little houses I created out of sticks and rocks.
I even spent some time watching some YouTube videos on how to make some more miniature plants. I have some more fun ideas to try.

Man made or natural shelters for equine?

I was asked by another blogger that I follow, "Do your critters have no shelter in the winter?"

To understand some of why my animals are able to stay outside during all seasons is to understand the lay of our land.

We are an extremely hilly landscape.  If a wind blows from any direction, our animals can simply go into an area or the woods to escape the winds and have them blocked.

They have constant temperate water available to them by means of heated stock tanks.

They have nearly a constant source of roughage to keep them warm.

Plus they have the freedom to run and play and move to keep their body temperatures regulated.

You can find our animals comfortably taking naps during the winter in the sunlight or in the middle of a storm.

Of course any of the animals who may be frail or ill will get brought into the unheated open on one end...shed that we have so we can monitor their health closely.

Believe me, I used to think how could they be warm?  Really?  I am cold, how can they not be cold?

Here is one of our mules after a particularly cold wicked day.  I put my hands up next to his skin and found it to be wonderfully warm and cozy.

He was not shivering, he was not cold.  

Anyway, what equine do need in cold weather is freedom of movement, wind blocks, or in our case deep ravines and forests...good forage and plenty of it.  
During the coldest parts of winter they have forage access 24 hrs a day.

I do not blanket them.  It messes up their ability to deal with cold weather and flattens their coats.  But that said, I have no problem with people who do blanket their horses or equine.  Horses with health issues do need the extra protection.

A well insulated animal in a healthy condition will get along nicely without being stalled or blanketed. A nice layer of snow laying across the animal's back also provides an nice layer of insulation.

Keep in mind these critters are of all ages.  In the photos above there are some 20+ ladies running with younger animals.  They were playing and warming their bodies up after a very cold night.

Or were they just having fun?

And lastly, one of our most insulated animals on the farm.  Easy to keep wonderfully entertaining, Lil' Richard.  This was his rear end after feeding him the other morning.

When the sun came out he rolled and discarded the snow on his back as the other animals did.

Let me say in conclusion that I know that my sister stalls and blankets her horses and turns them out in the indoor arena.  But she lives in an area where there is no natural wind blocks.  Plus she uses the blankets to keep the hair flat and for faster shed out as show season starts early.

So in answer to the question, do my critters have no shelter?  They have available shelter in the form of hills and woods.  After all, the horse has lived without man made shelter for many years.

I hope this helps!

For interesting reading try this article: Thermoregulation in horses in a cold time of year...