It is the weekend and my daughter had time to do another segment on the Ice Age Trail. She packed up her tent and sleeping bag on Saturday after the light rain that we had in the morning stopped, and headed off to do another section.
This was the first section she had done going West from our town, and most of the hike was done on secondary roads.
The fields of soybeans have turned yellow and will soon fall off, allowing the bean pods to dry enough to be harvested.
There were no designated camping spots along this section of trail, and there were "no camping" signs, but she left a voice mail message at the county offices to alert them that she would be camping in the park. She found a spot back in the woods where she felt no one would be bothered by her presence.
The moon came up, creating moon shadows on her tent and it was only when she heard and felt the loud stomp right outside her tent door that she realized she had been wrong!
There was a deer that was bothered by her choice of camping spot.
It tried to scare her off by snorting loudly, but eventually gave up and she was able to get to sleep.
When a deer stomps its hoof or "huffs" (often called snorting or blowing), it is responding to a suspected threat in its environment.
Deer have excellent motion detection, but their vision lacks sharp detail for stationary objects. If a deer sees or hears something suspicious (like a human standing still or a tent in the woods), it will stomp its front hoof to startle the threat into moving, allowing the deer to confirm what it is.
A "huff" or "blow" is a burst of air exhaled through the nostrils. While stomping means "I suspect something is wrong," a loud blow means "Danger confirmed—run!" Exhaling forcefully clears their nasal passages, allowing them to catch a clearer scent of whatever spooked them.
There was heavy fog when she woke up the next morning.
The tent was covered with dew drops and she made herself a leisurely breakfast, hoping her gear would dry out some before she put it back into her pack.
Invasive honeysuckle berries. Birds eat them, but they are mildly toxic to people and pets.
Her departure was being noted!
All photos are from my family albums
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