Under the Apple Tree

Don't sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me
Anyone else but me, anyone else but me, no, no, no
Don't sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me
'Til I come marching home...

At the end of August, as the apple trees around the Mariposa lodge just started coming ripe, I noticed that Yogi, our local black bear, might be sneaking in for a few:


Does a bear poop in the woods? Not always - sometimes they poop 
next to the house, under the apple tree.

So, I thought I'd put a cam trap up in the big garden apple tree - pointing down the trunk - to see if I could catch her in the act when she climbed up for a snack.

For a little over a week, only mulies came and went - hoping for grounded or low hanging fruits. Here's a couple of the season's still-spotted fawns:


September 3rd, 8am - fawn looking for fruit.


Sept 6th, 7pm - another, younger fawn under tree.

Then the pros arrived.

Masked and silent, they moved in and cased the joint in under 4 minutes.

And left showing no signs of loot.


Sept 9th 8:30pm - here come the raccoons.










4 minutes later, they disappear into the night

After los bandidos, it was just deer again for 12 days and nights.


Sept 10th, 8pm - a pair of lady mule deer sniffing about.

Around the equinox, after I checked and moved the camera slightly, the wild turkeys trotted in. They send 1-2 into the tree to knock down apples for all to then fight over.


Sept 21st, 9:50am - upper most turkey is in the tree.

For the next 2 weeks, more deer, and a few jays and robins showed, but no bear. Guess all the ripe acorns, manzanita, coffeeberry, and honeysuckle around were more than enough for her.


October 4th, 10am, after/during the rain - a doe scores!

But on October 12th and 13th, a surprise predator-opportunist did show:


Oct 13th, 3:45am - coyote hunting apples (but dreaming of lazy, fat fawns).

And while I didn't get the yote eating the apples, I did see the evidence when I walked the trails to pick up the other cams. And by then, most of the apples were well gone.


Oct 21st - one of several apple-bearing coyote scats on the trails.

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References:

• Glenn Miller - Greatest Hits (incl. Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree)

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