Summer....finally

I went to the Walpole transfer station the other day.  Always looking for a bargain!  The "reuse" center is great for finding replacement coffee carafes for the coffee machine.   Or a thermos!  But the prize this day was a weathered wooden bench frame, and a matching chair.  They looked as though they had been next to the ocean, a nice shade of gray.  I left the chair, but took the bench home and revitalized it. I think it turned out pretty well.  I had to add a support for the middle of the seat, then the seat and back.  All that is left to do is stain the new wood gray, to match the weathered parts.  The bench will be perfect for my back porch, or the lake.

The second photo is one I took while out on a lengthy motorcycle ride on the backroads through Greenfield, and Lyndeborough.   This unusual place had a sign posted that read, "Yankee Siege".   There is a trebuchet (catapult),  a large caldron, heavy equipment, and a miniature castle.  All with a stone wall around it.   Not much grass to speak of, but on a far hillside someone was tending to a large garden.   I have no clue what this configuration of miscellany is about.  Across the street is the Yankee Farmer, and a Wapack Trailhead.    It's interesting, and really strange.  I "Googled" the Yankee Siege and learned that the trebuchet is used to "chuck pumpkins" of all things!  Every fall there is a competition, worldwide even, to see how far a pumpkin can be thrown.  Last year the Yankee Siege won.    Perhaps this fall, I'll do another motorcycle ride to Greenfield to watch this.....maybe not.

Bobcat Update

Yesterday was the first time the Bobcat had returned to its kill.  I found tracks(note the rounded nature of the track with no claw marks like a canid), and noticed the deer had been pulled further back into the tall grass.  A leg, and some of the chest meat had been eaten.  Flies were just overwhelming.   Despite the gore, the area was fairly clear of odor.  I returned today and found even more of the deer consumed.  The carcass was pulled even further into the swampy grass.

As I spend more and more time out and around the "kill zone", I wonder if the Bobcat is lurking nearby.  Evvy and I hiked four miles this morning, which included a stop by the deer carcass.  We ventured up Derry Hill, the eastern boundary of the Britton Farm, where this cute little cabin sits.

Along the trail there is a very steep, section littered with granite boulders.  The rocks are big enough to climb on, and perfect for den opportunities.  Perhaps the Bobcat rests there during the heat of the day?  I have hunted in this area often, and found bear sign at the top of the granite exposed hill.  This area is just teaming with wildlife of all kinds.