Steven Helmer Publications

I got quite a bit accomplished yesterday thanks to the internet being down for roughly 15 or 16 hours and with nothing on TV last night (because we needed the internet to watch it), I made sure to get my trail cameras in the back yard. It turned out to be a busy night (maybe the animals were without internet too) with quite a few critters walking in front of the cameras. Here are some of the photos: __________________________________________________________________________ Here are some previous trail camera photos: Trail Camera Photo (5/5/2025-5/6/2025) Trail Camera Photos (9/30/2025-10/1/2025) Trail Camera Photos (9/8/2024-9/9/2024) A Couple Trail Camera Photos

I always feel bad when I wake Stormcloud up and move her so I can sit down. Then I remember she is getting free room and board in exchange for keeping mice and other unwanted intruders out of the house. And yet here she is, sleeping on the job. __________________________________________________________________________ Here is a story I wrote about a cat we used to have:  Apollo Gets Adopted (A Short Story)

I am squeezing the last life out of my trail camera batteries before buying new ones and made sure to place one of my cameras outside again last night. It was a bit warmer (though still colder than I would prefer for this time of year) and I had a little more activity on it, including a visit from some ducks. Here are some of the photos:

I need to get some new batteries for my trail cameras but figured there was still enough battery life in one to give it a try outside last night. It was kind of cold and there wasn't a whole lot of activity in the backyard. I did, however, get a few photos of some stray cats that wandered into the yard (including one that looks so much like one of my cats, I had to verify they were both in the house).

Stormcloud has been at her station early this morning, guarding our house from the birds and, more importantly, squirrels that dare to visit the patio table bird feeder.  She's doing a great job. Not a single one of them has gotten in the house yet. ____________________________________________________________________ Here are some other cat photos: Just a Cat Photo Just Some Random Cat Photos Pizza Box Cat I Don't Know About that Cat

  They must have been cold. I don't normally see Echo and Stormcloud on our bed at the same time and almost never that close together. It didn't last long. Soon after I took the photo, they were both awake and looking to eat. ________________________________________________________________ Here are some other cat photos: I Think Our Cat May Be in Need of Rehab Who Needs a TV When You Have a Window Just Some Random Cat Photos King of the Cat Tree

I don't normally put my trail cameras out during the winter, both because the batteries don't usually hold up in the cold and because there isn't as much activity in my back yard this time of year. However, I decided to put one out near the bird feeders last night, just to see what it picked up. As expected, there wasn't much variety and most of the videos were tripped by the same two rabbits. We did, however, have a feline visitor that I hope found some place warm later. Here is a selection of the videos: ____________________________________________________________________ Here are some more trail camera photos and videos: Trail Camera Videos (10/9/2024-10/10/2024) Trail Camera Photos (4/7/2025-4/8/2025) Trail Camera Photos (5/22/2025-5/23/2025) Trail Camera Photos (3/29/2025-3/30/2025)

My name is Apollo. And, as you can probably tell from the picture below, I'm a cat. I've never done anything special, like rescue someone from a fire, save someone from drowning or protected my house from burglars. Instead, I'm just an ordinary house cat living with a family in Wisconsin. My average day consists of sleeping, eating and occasionally playing with one of my toys. My favorite activity is crawling into my mother's lap each night when she sits down to watch a movie on TV. However, while I consider myself an ordinary cat, I also know I'm a lucky cat. This is because, nearly 16 years ago, things weren't like this at all. When I was younger, I didn't have a family. I was a stray. And, ultimately, I ended up living in an animal shelter in Pennsylvania. Life in the shelter wasn't horrible. The people there were good people, and they took good care of me. It just wasn't the same as having a family of my own and I was lonely. The worst part was I...

I didn't have the same variety I had earlier in the week, but there was still quite a bit of trail camera activity last night, including multiple visits from some of our furry neighbors. Here are some of the photos:

It's been a while since I've posted some photos of Stormcloud and Echo, so here are a few of them. Echo is in the boxes while Stormcloud is stretched out on our couch. _____________________________________________________________________ Here are some other photos of our cats: Just a Cat Photo I Don't Know About that Cat King of the Cat Tree

The weather was uncooperative over the weekend, so I kept my trail cameras indoors. I decided to risk it last night and put one out behind the house, only to discover it was raining again not long after. However, I still managed to keep my socks dry this morning when retrieving it and captured some late-night activity not far from our bedroom window. Here are some of the photos:

We are expecting bad weather later today, so I made sure to get the trail cameras out last night, just to make sure all is well after dark. We ended up with some visitors throughout the night. Here are some of the videos:

 There is a possibility for storms tonight and tomorrow morning, so I probably won't put my trail cameras out. I did, however, place one outside last night and once again had quite a bit of activity from our usual guests. Here are some of the videos:

The temps cooled down a bit yesterday but since it wasn't expected to rain, I decided to put one of my trail cameras out to see what it picked up. There wasn't a lot of variety, but I did wind up with quite a few videos. This included an action scene involving an opossum and a stray cat. Don't worry, neither got hurt.

The weather was cool but clear last night, so I put one of my trail cameras out last night to see what would wander in front of it.  I had some success, both last night and this morning, with plenty of activity. Here are some of the photos: