Deer in our Mountains!
We had a couple of visitors yesterday…a mama deer and her yearling fawn came by for a morning drink. Luckily, I was putting on the water for tea at just the right moment and caught them in action, right outside the kitchen window.
We have collection tanks for our gardening, and a couple of big horse troughs just for the critters. Critters being deer and bear, and hopefully, someday, elk! We’ve seen their prints and scat on our land, so we know they’re in the area.
We’ve had a dry winter…not a lot of snow, and what did accumulate was gone within a few hours. But somehow life goes on. In fact, there seem to be more jackrabbits and cottontails than I remember from last year. I saw a jackrabbit running across the road yesterday along with a couple of deer. Jackrabbits are elegant, long legged rabbits and look kind of deer-like themselves. They actually run, unlike their hopping cottontail cousins.
And the hummingbirds are back in force!
This morning I was watering the fruit trees we planted last autumn and the little hummers kept buzzing me. You’d think they’d have a little more respect for the goddess who keeps their feeders full of sugar water, but I suppose they think of me as just another part of the ecological system.
They are full of beans right now, busy with mating dances and nest building. I’ve counted at least 3 hummingbirds, but they move so fast that I’m pretty sure I’ve missed a few. The sugar water is going down in the feeders at a pretty good clip anyway. By Autumn (if last year was any indication) there will be at least twenty five of them.
And reptiles, Too!
I also saw our resident striped lizard (who likes to sun on the log in front of the house next to my husband’s small garden Buddha) dashing by a few days ago. I haven’t seen the horny toad yet, but I’m hoping he makes an appearance soon, and manages to stay safe from the cats.
Horned lizards (horny toads) do have a defense mechanism, kind of an interesting one. Have you heard of it? They can squirt blood from their eye sockets. Pretty sure the cats wouldn’t enjoy that much. Plus they are pretty spiky! I’m hoping the cats stay with hunting mice instead of lizards.
What wild animals are making an appearance where you Live?
Tell me what critters you’re noticing in your neck of the woods! You know me, I can’t get enough of animal stories!