Dandy backyard buck, Dave. He has that familiar guilty look about him that says he's been enjoying your garden and fallen kiwis.

Our resident herd of brown-eyed locusts has been jostled by the recent appearance of song dogs. A breeding pair had pups this summer. Have seen them on either side of darkness and mostly heard them after sunset. Watched one ala Leica 10X dig up a plump mole at dawn, toss it around and sing of his success. As long as they stay on a diet of rodents and not poultry, they can do their natural balancing act. Both the owls and the 'yotes have been hunting the property hard since I mowed the fields in late June.