Good morning, Eagle River here. Bulbs--deer love tulips, crocus, lily. So I plant daffodils, scilla, glory-of-the-snow, pushkinia, and hyacinth (poisonous) for spring bulbs. Tulips only where they are protected (I dearly love tulips, sigh). I've found a very effective spray to repel deer called 'Deer Out'. It's different from the others with similar names in that it smells like mint, doesn't rinse off with rain. Re-apply to new growth. Believe it or not, I have totally unprotected hostas thriving. I buy it online direct from the company, but I've seen it at 3X the $ in garden centers. No, I don't work for these people, LOL. However, you will not be here to use the spray often enough, so unless you are fencing, take care what you plant. The deer population up here is obscene. Every spring I find starved deer in our woods; feeding them only worsens the problem as it contributes to the over population. But I digress-- The only plants I have found that the deer absolutely do not touch in my garden are the silver-white ones, such as artemesia. Also, they tend to leave the herbs alone: tarragon, sage, any mint. As far as climate goes, I'd say we're more a zone 4 these days; it's not as cold as you might think. We do get those cold snaps of 30 below once in a while, but only after a good snow cover, so it's not much of a perennial issue, except when we get bitter cold before the snow and as such, get deep frost. Therein lies the big problem :0 Great to hear from you--whereabouts is your property? Welcome to the Forum! Constance.

Thanks! Seems to be the exact manual we have, but in pdf file, so I bookmarked it. I just retrieved the infrared card and despite our efforts last night to leave the new cam in "camera mode", we got a series of short videos-all of which were just red screens except for the last video which was of me passing to get the SD card from the other camera. I still can't make heads or tails out of the directions, so I'll just leave the infrared cam as is for the moment. The Cuddeback cam had several critter photos on it-all familiar faces by now: 3-30-09, Gray Squirrel, 3:03 p.m. From Cuddeback trail camera photos-wildlife on Picazo Farm pond trail 3-31-09, Eastern Cottontail, 4:01 a.m. From Cuddeback trail camera photos-wildlife on Picazo Farm pond trail 3-31-09, pond trail, female Red Fox, 4:58 a.m. From Cuddeback trail camera photos-wildlife on Picazo Farm pond trail To see a slide show of all the Cuddeback camera photos, here's the link to the Picasa Web album, or click on any of the photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/rachelbro3/CuddebackTrailCameraPhotosWildlifeOnPicazoFarmPondTrail# I tried to get photos of the Louisiana Waterthrush this morning but it was cloudy so the shutter speed was slow. I also had trouble using manual focus through the branches, so I'll try tomorrow for sharper photos 3-31-09, Farm creek, male Louisiana Waterthrush, 8:59 a.m. From 3-23-09, Spring 3-31-09, 9:02 a.m. From 3-23-09, Spring 9:04 a.m. From 3-23-09, Spring 9:14 a.m. From 3-23-09, Spring

We saw another Eagle in East Branch, NY where Trout Brook hits the Beaverkill. There is a nice swimming spot over there. Joseph Offenberg

Eagles are no longer endangered but very protected. It was DDT that caused the egg shells to be so thin the chicks did not survive. And they were hunted. Shore birds that are hunted like Turr, aka Murre, and Puffins have an odd flavor. I'm convinced it is the diet of all seafood. Mostly small sand eels and capelin...similar to anchovies. Like that dark, almost black, 1/2 inch to inch sometimes found in a tuna steak. Like a braised beef, liver, hints of sea life. Turr needs a long braise, then shreds like pulled pork. But tastes a bit like liver. Often used in a winter pastry pie with lots of potato and peas/carrots and the braising liquid as a gravy. That was 20 yrs ago when we were gifted this delicacy before I knew what I was consuming. Beautiful birds, the Turr. Like little penguins. A million and a half nesting pairs and not declining but more of a winter sport now. 50 and more years ago it was a winter food source. Little wing span so they take off from a floating water position, then skirt along fast, close to the water, not a flight. Hence the 'sport'. We actually do not care much for duck or geese unless in the hands of a great chef. Not yet said, "I crave a duck breast!", like I do for salmon or collards, artichoke....any number of things. Shake Shack, lol. Dad sent this one. A hummingbird nest built on a string of Christmas lights. 😳...feedings seem to be about every 10-20 minutes.