Barnett Greetings 2008
Hi from the Wacousta Barnetts!

The year began with snow on the ground and our deer herd intact. That's how the year's greetings will end, also. Our deer herd expanded by 3 fawns, and as you can see, they are learning to eat anything green on our property, just like their moms! In case you are wondering why there is a fence around the garden: on the other side, a squash vine managed to grow through the caging, and the deer found the leaves and young squash to be quite tasty.
Although we complain about their ravenous appetites, we do enjoy watching them. Nearly every day, even during hunting season, they can be seen sauntering across our back yard, often stopping to nibble on the tasty morsels they think belong to them, or resting under the shade of the trees and bushes along our property line.

Whenever one of us sees them, we shout out to the other: "Deer Alert" --which usually brings the other to the window to watch and appreciate their antics.
If you remember, much of the Midwest suffered extensive flooding this Spring. We got our usual Spring Flood, but it was nothing like the folks in Indiana and Wisconsin endured, and it wasn't as bad as the year the floodwaters spilled over into our pond. No sailboats or whales to photograph this year...
The river should be just beyond the little fisher-girl statue.
When the river behaves itself, canoists enjoy it's serenity and beauty.
We have other wildlife, of course. Last Winter, the Great Blue Heron stayed for three days and three nights, fishing from a small patch of unfrozen pond.

When he caught something, he'd drop it on the ground a few times, probably to make it stop wiggling. Then he'd pick it up and position it head first to swallow it. We didn't know the fish got that big in our pond!

We had our usual menangerie of frogs, turtles, chipmonks, squirrels, muskrats, racoons, opossoms, and lots of birds. It can be very entertaining here!!!