The Evolution of Atlas: A Breeding (and Chat) Thread

[speckledhen]

I'm seeing quite a few bucks here lately, unusual really; mostly one or two I know grew up on our property. They're rather young so antlers are not humongous, but past the spike buck stage. They are less afraid than any I've ever seen. The only reason I think they're the same ones is that at least one of them is seen with the same group of does. One stepped out of some brush when I was standing at the pasture fence watching his relatives close by. He just looked at me, listened to me talk to him, then he trotted away after the group, completely unalarmed. A couple of those does hang around even when I'm walking around, talking, messing with the chickens. When the next door neighbor began shooting close by, they didn't even flinch and one of the guys runs with that group. Could be his mother is one of them. When I was filming the last video, the main doe I recognize was hanging around the fence, even when I opened the chain link gate and stepped out closer to film her. I was being loud and she acted like she was hanging around for safety, kept looking toward my neighbor's house down the hill.
That group definitely feels safe here, but may change their minds when I get another dog. I want them to feel safe, even though they make me crazy eating stuff I want to keep, because we made need one of the guys to sacrifice himself for our freezer. I got a mineral lick to put in the pasture, forgot it in the car, dang it.
Sadly, I saw one of this year's fawns trotting across the pasture holding up its right rear leg yesterday, didn't put it down on the ground at all. I hope it wasn't broken. That one won't make it through winter unless it heals quickly. Too many roaming dogs run the deer, plus the usual coyote packs.

 

[1muttsfan]

I wish I could come up with a good excuse for turning the heat up, but my Midwest sensibilities will not allow that

 

[speckledhen]

Yeah, I know. We're cheap, too, LOL! J/K! I die in the night if it's warm. I turn it down at night, but only about 68 and I crack the window over my bed.

 

[speckledhen]

We're settling in for winter. We topped off all the waterers today. It's raining and blustery, about to drop by 20* in both day and night temps from Wednesday night into Thursday. I'll be cleaning more today and working on my current novel, which is part 2 of a series set in the same town, good inside activities. Both my sons are coming on Thursday and though we don't eat this type food anymore, my husband is going to cook a turkey and make dressing, which is why they want to come. I'll make deviled eggs and we'll heat up our home -canned Crowder peas.
After eating beef for six years, a little pork mostly in the form of bacon and a tiny bit of chicken, I began remembering that I don't much like turkey and I certainly shouldn't be eating dressing like my husband is going to make-a mix of half biscuits, half cornbread crumbled together with chopped hard boiled eggs, onions, broth and seasonings, lots of sage, typical Southern dressing in a pan. Bread is bread and I don't eat bread, much as I love it. That said, my husband made homemade ultra-thin crust pizza for my birthday about a week ago and it was great, but this is too soon after that transgression to eat anything starchy again. The more I eat that stuff, the more I want it so I generally avoid it altogether

I began re-reading a very old series again. I don't own the first book, but I have the second and third. They are by Mary O'Hara, published in the 1940's: My Friend Flicka, Thunderhead & Green Grass of Wyoming. It's what the old TV series My Friend Flicka was based on. The descriptions are immersive and I love them. I've read these several times all the way through, but I had the urge to do it all over again. I'd love to be able to describe the scenes as vividly as Ms. O'Hara did.
Here was my birthday pizza, very carnivore on the top, cheat crust on the bottom. AND the mini-chocolate cheesecakes I made for dessert, zero sugar and really chocolatey from plain cocoa.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Happy belated Birthday Cynthia. Your pizza looks delicious. Because I'm a type 1 diabetic I can't do a lot of carbs, so Thanksgiving has always been a nightmare. Stuff smells and tastes good, but than the roller coaster ride of blood sugars afterwards is so uncomfortable. It isn't the turkey making people fall asleep it's all the refined carbs.

It's just my husband and me, so we just do a slimmed down version of Thanksgiving that includes big salads. I'm also not one to celebrate holidays too much anyways. I also don't eat meat, so the turkey is irrelevant to me.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

@1muttsfan , Mary, I see you are about to get buried in snow tonight and tomorrow?