Outdoors - Background photo

   Today, I needed a picture to place in the background of an ad. It needed to be something pertaining to bow hunting or the outdoors in general. I knew just the place to find such a picture. I started scrolling through the files of pictures my wife and I have gotten on the trail cameras. I was surprised at the number of great deer pictures we have and pictures of other animals that have happened to pass by the trail cameras.

   At different times of the year, we put cameras in places to capture various animals. In late winter and early spring, I put a trace mineral block out for the deer. This promotes antler growth and bone growth in the developing fawns. This is also a great place to obtain pictures. It seems, all the deer in the area check out the mineral block at least once each day. It is not unusual to have three to four hundred pictures in a week’s time of deer visits.

   Another time, I placed a camera near the oriole feeder by the house. I had two reasons for this. There was one oriole with darker coloration. I wanted a close-up picture to help in identification. Also, something had been raiding the grape jelly in the feeder. I only left the camera in that location for a couple of days knowing there would be lots of pictures. I was correct. In just over two days, there were several hundred photos taken. I was able to identify the darker mystery bird as an orchard oriole not the more common Baltimore oriole. I found I had two nighttime raiders of the jelly rather than one. If the jelly was all gone, a raccoon was to blame. I have several pictures of him picking the dish up and licking it clean. The other thief, who was much more discreet and only ate part of the jelly each visit, was a flying squirrel. I had to look at several pictures before I could figure out what the picture was. Its dark little furry body blended in with the bark of the tree and its big eyes shone brightly in the flash of the night. The rarely seen flying squirrel was not something I was expecting to be raiding the oriole feeder.

   Another trick to bring animals to your camera is to field dress a couple of deer near where you have or can hang a camera. This is sure to attract carnivores of all types. I have used this technique to take pictures of eagles, coyotes and bob cats. It is also not uncommon to get a picture of skunks, opossums and hawks this way.

   It is always interesting to go check the cameras. It makes for a pleasant ride around the farm and when a person gets back to the house, we can go over the memory cards and see what we have. There are a lot of pictures that get deleted, but some pictures turn out great, even good enough to be the background in an ad. (check closely on the background of an ad on page 1 of the Jan 4 edition of the Post. Ottumwapost.com)