Deer Tracks They're Back!

www.naturelovesappreciation.blogspot.com Deer tracks

Not a creature was stirring not even a mouse! Or so we thought.

The dogs had been restless all night. I let them out at 2:22 and 4:44 am. It was the coldest night of December. The door would stick and I pulled hard on the frozen door to get out. The dogs charged off the back porch and out to the back fence like a team of horses.  Kollie was barking ferociously towards the llamas.  I dressed into my warm layers of clothing, slipped my feet into my boots, and grabbed a big flash light.

 The door was stuck and I gave a hard quick pull....Whoosh * As it opened the vapors of the cold outside air and warm of the house enveloped me.  I carefully made my way down the stairs, grabbing onto the cedar post to my left, and stepped upon the snowy lawn. How beautiful it was out there, the black sky, bright stars, and golden sliver of crescent moon hung above the mountains.  

The llamas were standing outside the shelter, their eyes gleaming in the dark which reminded me of unicorns. They were woken up by “something” roaming about in the dark. Whatever was there was gone so we all went back inside the warm house and got into bed. 

My husband and I spoke about the possibility of deer returning to our farm. We had not seen many lately and love them so much a desire passed through our hearts. 

In the light of the morning we saw a magical scene of deer tracks everywhere, even on the the coldest of winter’s nights, they surrounded us coming to the call of our hearts. 

See the lovely tracks they make? Do you know what causes that delicate long streak in their tracks? Here is a closer view. 

Deer Tracks in the snow.

 Snow is so wonderful for seeing who has visited our farm in the wee hours of the night and dawn. Every night before I drift off to sleep I lay in my bed at night imaging the vast Utah wilderness around us and all the animals moving about under the moon.

Thank you dear friends for sharing this story with me. I hope you enjoyed it. 
 With Love, Deborah Moon Moen of Nature Loves Apreciation
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There is a precious video of a Christmas feast at Wildwood a wild Park and Zoo on facebook. Here is the link to this video https://www.facebook.com/wildwoodzoo/videos/10154966015312868/ 

Here is a video on Utah showing deer eating with a family outdoors. 
https://youtu.be/6hAekgYmnMo

Deer Parade

First time seeing deer on our property.

 The more you appreciate nature, the more nature there is to appreciate!

The more my husband and I appreciate our contact with the deer the more deer are drawn to our home.

It has been 8 years of yearning for deer to come near but yearning does not draw the deer near. In fact it is appreciation that draws what you love near you. 

The deer are getting closer and closer and closer with each wave of appreciation we feel in our hearts when we see them. Just last week there was a deer parade in our back yard and pasture.  I was admiring the clouds through the kitchen window and grabbed my camera to photograph them. My eye caught movement and I discovered a doe walking across our alfalfa field. My heart went pitter pat and I got it on camera. Another doe walked out from our cottonwood tree and they walked to the back fence. 

I ran in to tell my husband and looked out back. The lamas ears were tall and fixed upon something behind the corral. 

I tippy-toed out and got behind a tree and there were deer everywhere. There were 2 bucks and 3 does. A parade of deer were right here. 

Oh my gosh they are all looking towards me. I am hiding behind a tree. click*

This morning a week later, I entered the garden gate and rounded the arbor and what I saw made me stop in my tracks! My willow was ripped and the bark rubbed off like a tornado had ripped it to shreds. By the way, yesterday I intended to cut those willows by the arbor very short as they grow so big and tall in the spring and summer. Well, the buck did it for me.

The deer rub their antlers against branches during rut season
and also to mark or read who is walking through their territory.

I called for my husband and he came out and found deer tracks going under the arbor we have in the vegetable garden, which is now bare after the harvest. I can just imagine how awesome it was to see the deer go through the arbor! We have decided to get a night cam. 

If you look real close under the arbor you can see deer tracks. 

Deer tracks under the arbor. 

I felt that appreciation well up from my solar plexus and through my heart and into my throat. Super magical. 



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Nature Loves Appreciation (page views 2376)

Deborah Moon Moen Chronicles
Nature Lover, Writer, Photographer 


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The Mouse Surprise Garden Row

The Mouse Surprise Garden Row 12 days after planting. Even the beans sprouted! www.NatureLovesAppreciation.Blogspot.com

"Is is too late for a garden?" I thought to myself. Digging the soil and making rows in late September sounded like a fun experiment to see how it would do in the cold weather.  I had a nice big garden box that my husband Paul made me and this year he added a lid to make it what they call a cold frame. It worked really well before the last frost keeping the plants protected and warm. 


I grabbed the hoe and shovel and began to open the soil and turn it over. I made nice rows with the hoe and watered the freshened soil till it was damp through and through. Next came a generous dose of fertilizer to replenish the soil. I searched in the shed for my seeds and found them on a table inside a green bucket. 


I brought my bucket in to the house and sat on the couch and began sifting and sorting through the seed packets with visions of my autumnal garden when a mouse appeared inside a Ziploc bag!!! "HELP" I yelled. I quickly ran out the front door with the bucket in hand and swiftly scooted as far out towards the garden as I could to release the mouse. As I rounded the brick borders of the carport, the mouse sprang upwards into the air, out of the green bucket, and landed like an acrobat on the soft dirt then scampered off. Whew* I was so relieved I made it out of the house before he leaped out of the bucket. I have had quite a few experiences with the acrobatic mice leaping from grain bins and buckets. 


While inspecting the rest of the seed packets outdoors I saw that a good share of the packets had been chewed through and the seeds had fallen out into the bottom of the bucket. I had no idea what seed went to what packet. That is when I got the idea to plant a row of these mixed surprise seeds and call it The Mouse Surprise Garden Row. 


I giggled to myself as I planted that row. I had no idea what would come up. I did recognize the green bush beans, though. I finished planting the other rows with seeds of lettuce, spinach, bok choy, parsley, beets and kale. Those seed packets had not been chewed on.


 All the chewed seed packet edges were repaired with tape and put into a Ziploc bag and into the fridge till next spring.


Six days later I opened the lid of the garden box and my seeds were beginning to sprout. The back row, which I dubbed The Mouse Surprise Garden Row,  had the most sprouts. I laughed and smiled and so much appreciated what fun it is to have a mystery garden row. 

What comes to mind now are spring bulbs. Never have I planted spring bulbs at the right time so before winter comes I shall search for narcissus, daffodils, hyacinth bulbs to plant before the ground hardens. Can you recall the fragrances of those flowers? 


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Did you know that when you appreciate nature there is more nature to appreciate. The benefits are accumulative!

Deborah MOON Moen
Nature Lover, Scout, Writer, Photographer, Recorder/Chronicle

We Found A Yellow Bellied Marmot !

This Yellow bellied marmot comes in greeting cards, t shirts, and other products
 on Fine Art America www.deborah-moen.artistwebsites.com
http://deborah-moen.artistwebsites.com/featured/yellow-bellied-marmot-capitol-reef-utah-deborah-moen.html

My husband spotted this yellow bellied marmot amongst the red earth and rock on a slope in Fruita Camp within the Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. I was thrilled to hear the marmot was near us. My husband backed me up on the trail and pointed at the area where marmot was. It took me awhile to focus in on him as he blended so well with his surroundings. Not a movement, breath or blink did he make as I clicked * my camera.

Look at how he blends in with his surroundings.

I know about these yellow bellied marmots from the High Sierras in California at the base camp called Constellation Camp. My experience with them showed me a playful side to their nature.
They hide away till you make your ascent up Mount Whitney. Then while you are gone they search your camp for goodies and even get into your bags. My hiking partner made sure our gear was out of site and off the ground. Marmots are a member of the squirrel family and they are much larger than the ground squirrels we are used to seeing.  It was a thrill to see them for the first time. I also had encounters with them while backpacking in the Olympic National Forest in Washington.


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Nature Loves Appreciation ( page views 1254 )

Until next time

Know that with a peaceful heart and mind the opportunities for appreciation will be revealed to you and the more you appreciate Nature and all other things the more there will be to appreciate.

Deborah Moen
Nature Lover

Desert Big Horn Sheep Capitol Reef National Park

Postcards
http://www.zazzle.com/3_big_horn_sheep_capitol_reef_national_park_utah_postcard-
239000369575747480?rf=238540278403281540

Desert Big Horn Sheep Capitol Reef National Park, Utah: 

 Capitol Reef has the most magnificnt rock formations ever. This place is Sedona, Arizona and the Grand Canyon all in one and more. 

We were driving down the 8.6 mile long Scenic Drive at Capitol Reef admiring the scenery. My eyes caught "something " unique on the rocky burgundy cliffs of the  * Moenkopi Formation. It took awhile to register and when I realized what they were I spoke as calm as possible to my husband who was driving. "Stop",.... ( he didn't hear me) again I said, "Stop"....... ( I spoke a little louder)..."STOP ".  My husband heard me that time and came to a stop. He looked curious.  I looked him in the eye and whispered while pointing to the cliffs, "Big horn sheep !" 

One was sleeping and the other two were resting, enjoying their afternoon. Zzzz ... it was an unusual sight I will never forget. 

Sleeping Big Horn Sheep Capitol Reef Postcard by Shop_DeborahMoen
Check out more Rams Postcards at Zazzle

This was an epic experience for us. I put together the photographs and videos I made of them below. I was so blessed to be in that spot at that time ! Enjoy the video 3:38. 

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Until next time

The more you appreciate nature the more their is to appreciate. 

DeborahMoen©

Nature Lover, Mentor, Writer, Photographer

Winter Horse

Gus is available for Greeting Cards Canvas & other products
http://deborah-moen.artistwebsites.com/featured/gus-deborah-moen.html

There was a giant Belgium Draft horse, named Gus, who lived on a farm in my neighborhood. I loved Gus.  I passed him everyday on my walks and when I went to town. One day Gus passed away from old age. The pasture where he lived was empty without him. My whole neighborhood felt empty with out his friendly presence.

Only a few weeks later, 2 horses showed up in the pasture. I was so happy to see the pasture occupied again. One horse was a pumpkin spice color so I named him Autumn. The other horse was white as snow and I gave him the name of Winter.



One morning I saw Winter Horse up close to the fence around the rustic log entry way. It was close to the road where I could get a good look and near enough to pet him. It was very cold, a minus 7 degrees that morning.

Winter Horse matches the ice and frost. www.naturelovesappreciation.blogspot.com

 The hoarfrost sprouted frazzled sharp icy points on the wire fence, There was a strand of tumbleweed attached to the fencing with the same frost formations. Winter Horse was friendly and stood posing this way and that. Then he bowed down and looked through the fence and I captured that beautiful moment with my camera. I am surprised my camera worked in that cold temperature.

Thank you for visiting
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Until next time,
Appreciate Nature
The more we appreciate the more there is to appreciate

Deborah Moon Moen
Nature Lover, Writer, Photographer, Philosopher,

Winter Horse Christmas Cardss available
http://deborah-moen.artistwebsites.com/featured/merry-christmas-winter-horse-deborah-moen.html

Antelope Totem

www.naturelovesappreciation.blogspot.com
Antelope Dixie national Forest, Utah

Oh, give me a home where the buffalo
    roam,
    Where the deer and the antelope play,
    Where seldom is heard a discouraging
    word
    And the sky is not clouded all day.

~ Dr. Brewster M. Higley  1870

So do they play?  

Absolutely.

I have always admired the mammals, reptiles, fish and insects for their ability to know what to do at any given moment. They know how to take care of themselves and work either alone or with
their families or species and Nature.

I admired them for this wonderful natural gift because I had many questions growing up like,

•  how to do things 
•  how to have good relationships
•  how do I support myself.

Wild animals are connected to the Nature, the force that beats our hearts. It is an uplifted, high powered, kind of experience that we humans can also enjoy. When we are fully connected to nature, we shine with an appreciation and well-being that feels great. We are then more inclined to play, to enjoy, and tend to move around freely, like the antelope.


Antelopes are players on the great stage of wilderness.



Spend time with these and all animals, they are our teachers. We can also learn from the plants and trees and many landscapes like ocean, streams, prairie, mountains, lakes, fields, hills, parks our own back yard.

Thank you for visiting !

Until then,

Nature Love /Appreciation


Related information :
Home on the Range: who wrote and how it evolved as Kansas' State song. also contains all 6 verses. http://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/home-on-the-range/17165 

Discover the tool that millions of people worldwide are using for guidance, inspiration, and help in finding answers to life's questions. now, revised and expanded to include eight additional cards, this unique and powerful divination system draws upon ancient wisdom and tradition to teach the healing medicine of animals. Medicine Cards and found its way into the hearts and hands of many, guiding the way to healing the body, emotions, mind, and spirit, and providing insight into and understand of one's unique purpose in life.

I saw Bambi !

Bambi Photographed by DeborahMoen©
see more at www.facebook.com/DeborahMoenRuralPhotography

Bambi: We entered the forest after passing a massive lava flow on the Markagunt Plateau. We had seen antelope on the way through the meadow. In the forest we entered into a new world of aspen and Ponderosa pine. There were pockets of light dappled in the darkness and I heard a snap* of a branch. I looked and saw "something" large sweeping through the trees. Was it an antelope or a deer? I heard the footsteps snapping twigs and then it was silent. There in the dark pocket of the shadows between the trees is where the sound stopped. I motioned to my husband to stop and pointed in that direction and I took aim and Click* not knowing what I would see emerge from the photograph. I do not have photo shop and all my photographs are quite true to color and quality. I do have a feature that allows me to lift a shadow. Imagine my surprise when I saw this beauty emerge from the shadows. It looks like a Disney painting to me. I just love it.

If you ever get a chance to walk through a forest do it. You can not think about your daily life here as your eyes meet with the beauty and wonder of light flora and fauna. It is pure stress relief and will bathe your mind and body in all those feel good chemicals and boost your immune function and all your systems will be attuned to Nature.

Thank you for visiting
Until next time:

Nature Loves Appreciation
www.naturelovesappreciation.blogspot.com


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Autumn Forest Greeting Cards by SimpleSpark
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