Oh, Deer!

I was walking through a field and noticed movement on an open hillside some distance away. I couldn't tell what it was because of the trees and brush blocking my view. A few moments later, a small herd of deer appeared in the field and they were running towards me. At first, I thought maybe they had spotted me in the distance and spooked, but that didn't make sense because deer don't run toward humans if they've seen or smelled us.

I was upwind of the deer and as they approached, they picked up my scent and stopped seeming a bit confused. I stood still behind some small trees as they looked for the source of the human scent. Some of them kept looking back and, finally, they turned around and ran the other way. There was a wooded hillside to my right and I could see them through the trees as they ran up the hill. They joined some more deer and I counted a dozen or more as they disappeared into another field on top of the hill.

Shortly afterwards, I discovered the source of all the excitement...they were being chased by a dog. Apparently, the dog had spooked them initially and then they ran into me as they were escaping. That created the confusion until they decided to split the difference and escape up the hill between me and the dog. I saw the dog a couple of minutes later and the deer had easily left him behind.

Linking to Camera Critters

Great Blue In Black And White

Linking to The Weekend In Black And White

Rural Skies

Linking to Rural Thursday Blog Hop

Fly The Blue Skies

Linking to Outdoor Wednesday

Ice Breaker III

This is the final part in my "ice breaker" series. I know it's warm enough in most parts of the country that people aren't thinking about ice, but I had to get this in to finish things off. If you missed the first two parts, you can see how a Canada Goose handled the ice (Ice Breaker) and then how a flock of American Coots fared on the frozen stuff (Ice Breaker II). All three of these sequences actually happened on the same day.

This time it's the regal Great Blue Heron. Although, he's not looking quite so regal while dealing with the ice. He was trying to land in the middle of the lake, but the weak ice kept messing with his psyche. I didn't use all the photos, just enough to convey the scene.

Here's the first attempt. And I'm pretty sure the third photo is the heron equivalent of being PO'd.

And the second attempt.

Now the third and final attempt after which the heron said enough of this indignity, I'm out! And I'm quite certain as he flew by I heard him say his Florida cousins could kiss his hiney!

Linking to World Bird Wednesday

Kentucky Barns...Red Is Rare

Barns in Kentucky are commonly painted black as are fences, particularly on horse farms. Tobacco barns are usually also black, although tobacco barns aren't as common as they once were. Red barns are fairly rare in Kentucky unlike my native state of Michigan where red is a common color. At least it used to be. I haven't lived there in many years. I managed to find some red in Kentucky and it has nothing to do with our necks.

This is an old corn crib. Not that common in itself in this state.

This little red barn comes complete with a red wagon. Well, red and blue.

This isn't actually a barn, but it's shaped like a barn and it's red, so there you go. Perhaps it's an old well house or some sort of cold storage building.

Linking to Barn Charm

Shoot The Moon(s)

During the last full moon, I was fortunate to get a shot of it during the early evening hours before the sun had even gone down. And, of course, the obligatory after dark shot.

Linking to Your Sunday Best and Weekly Top Shot

Snakes In The Grass

Earlier this month, my daughter and I spotted a couple of Garter snakes slinking around by the back fence. No doubt they were brought out by the unusually warm temperatures and sunshine. They tolerated some photos for a few minutes and then slithered off.

Linking to Camera Critters

Old Meets Newer

Kentucky has a lot of old stone fences leftover from many years past. In some cases, they are protected and many that were in bad shape have been carefully rebuilt. I found some stone fences being used in conjunction with newer traditional fences, although some of the "newer" fences look rather old themselves. The big barn in some of the shots is the same one from a recent post.

This section of the fence even comes with its own steps.

And for the grand finale, you get old fence, newer fence, AND a big barn.

Linking to Friday Fences