Nature! The Grim Reality of The Wild...

Cheryl Almost ready to run.

Her calf has been giving her trouble.

Another pleasant day ( Compared to what we had last week!) and Cheryl decided to go out on another training run.  Her calf  has been bothering her for a few days now,  so she decided to take it easy and see how things panned out.  She has had lots of complaints lately.... 

I don't run,  That is why I'm qualified!

First it was the job, then the cold, then A COLD, (or flu, or something)  now it is an injury.    What a crybaby!   I say that from the warm and comfortable position of my IKEA couch...  With my warm and delicious cup of dandelion tea.   Yeah!  I'm kinda qualified to point out Cheryl's wimpiness. 

See the Bald Eagle?

Along the way,  we noticed another Bald Eagle in the middle of the field.   Yesterday,  we scared up about 8 of them from the same area.  With Cheryl taking things easy today, I had time to check out what all of the fuss was about. 

Wonder what he was doing out there...

I discovered the secret.  Well, not really a secret for me. I had a feeling that this is what we would find.   A dead deer in the middle of the field.  I was not even surprised to see that it was a buck.  I shall explain.

"Mystery" solved!!!

For those who may not know, Bucks duke it out among each other for the affections of the females.   Sometimes,  those battles can get ugly... and deadly.  With no visible gunshot wound,  no blunt trauma from a car hit, ( although, there may have been on the other side)

Nice rack.  12 points!  

My guess is that this is the "loser" in a fist-to-cuffs  exchange between two males showing off for the ladies.   Cheryl was saddened that the majestic buck we saw last year might  not be around any more.  I offered that HE might have been the winner,  and this poor guy was the ill-fated suitor.

Wonder how big the winner was.

 IF I remember properly ( and I have no photographic evidence for this.) He was VERY large in the antler and neck area.  This buck was only a 12 pointer!  (The picture hides a couple points) With broken tines!   It must have been a serious battle.

Safer courtship.  

So there is nature in action.   The once majestic buck has now been reduced to pigeon food ( Noted: A very large and majestic meat-eating pigeon.) That is what you get when you fight over the ladies.   Better to do the mating dance...  dancing might make you look foolish, but at least you don't DIE!

Even if you DO look ridiculous.  Safety first. 

I resisted the old red-neck urge to cut off the head and bring it back home.  I know, I know.... I'm not that guy anymore.   (Although, I would not be surprised if my brother or cousins would have done such a thing.  I'm no longer a taxidermist nor a hunter.

And I had such big plans...

 Cheryl has pretty much forbade me from bringing any antlers of any kind back into the house.   I can live with that.  (But it was a sweet rack and still in pristine condition.  Leaving it out there for he squirrels and mice to gnaw at it just seems like a waste.  What a tragedy.)

Wood Ear!   In the middle of the Sidewalk?   How?

Wonder why it is called Wood Ear?

Clusters of Wood Ear Mushrooms. Wonder how they taste.

After her short run, we walked back into the hills to, once again, see if we could find any new winter mushroom.   We found this Wood Ear mushroom.   Get this!  In the middle of the sidewalk.   As if someone had picked it and dropped it there.   The key to this story was that this was the mushroom I was looking for.   What are the odds?  (almost zero!  How and Who put it there?   The very mushroom I was after!  Very strange.)

They are  edible,  but this one looked a little old.   And having not found it on a log myself, I am uncertain of the origin and back story.   But finding it there in he woods at least confirms my suspicion  that they are in this area.  Perhaps we will be able to find some in the spring.

She is actually miserable.  See?

Hope everyone is having a fun and exciting day today.  If you can enjoy the 45 degree weather and sunshine, I would highly recommend.  Hopefully,  the worse part of winter is behind us now.  I'm still impressed with just how cold Iowa can get.   And I'm happy when those days are few and far between.