Reindeer Summer Camp

Yesterday afternoon, I looked out my bedroom window and discovered several of Santa's flight crew were grazing in the back yard.

Initially, I thought there were two. Vixen hovered near the woods while the brazen Blitzen was near the house and chowing on my weedy lawn!

We opened the back door quietly and went onto the deck.

He heard us, but wasn't bothered by our presence!

Then, out of my flower bed came this big guy!

Dasher had eaten all of the hydrangeas he could reach and was on to the weeds!

If only the stupid pole to the birdhouse wasn't there, this would have been a fabulous shot!

I know a few hunters who would have loved to see these guys!

When Santa whistled for the crew to return to the sleigh, Vixen beat the boys into the woods.

With a challenge issued by Vixen, Dasher was off!

Blitzen brought up the rear! I'm sure Vixen won this particular reindeer game!

Santa, you owe me a couple of hydrangea bushes!

NOTE: Riley Dog slept peacefully on the porch in the garage while Reindeer Summer Camp was going on in the back yard!

Baby Deer Karma

This morning, I left the house with my list of things to do:

1. Take Will to school.
2. Pick up some yogurt and alarm clock from Wally World.
3. Take garbage to the dump.
4. Return books to the library.

I got off to a good start. We caught the light and got Will to school on time. On to the next chore. But, as I zipped down Falls of the Neuse Road, I saw a bag fly out of the back of my truck. One of the trash cans had tipped over. Of course, it was the only bag that hadn't been tied. I turned onto a side road so I could walk back and pick up my trash. (Littering is a huge pet peeve of mine!)

I pulled up to the curb, glanced over at the side walk and saw a baby deer sitting there. She was covered in white spots and had ears larger than her face! Behind her was a tree protection fence that bordered a construction site. No mama deer was in sight.

I got out of the truck and walked over to the baby. She propped up on her front elbows and hoisted her rear up. For fear that she would run into traffic, I scooped her up. She let out a couple of WAAAA sounds, then settled into my arms like she belonged there. Now what do I do?

I dialed 911 and told the operator what had happened. I wasn't sure who else to call. We climbed into the truck to wait and snuggle. What a cute baby! I tried everything I could to justify bringing her home with me. Knowing that Tony would be likely to divorce me was a good motivator to make other arrangements for the baby. We waited and waited and waited.

Forty minutes later...Since I hadn't eaten breakfast before I left home, I was getting a little hungry. I figured the baby was probably a little hungry, too. It dawned on me that Dr. Darch, our veterinarian, was just across Capital Boulevard. He might have food for the baby. We buckled up and took off. I thought she might be a little distressed by the movement of the car, but she stayed snuggled in my lap.

When we arrived at Dr. Darch's office minutes later, he was putting letters in the mailbox. I rolled down my window and asked him to come look at what I had in my lap and tell me what to do with it. He looked at me rather skeptically. Later, I realized he probably thought I was a perve and didn't have any pants on. He mustered up his courage and came over for a look.

I told him how I found the baby and that she didn't seem to have any injuries. He said he knew of a rehabilitation program that would work with her. I asked if she would be euthanized. He assured me she would not. He got a blanket and wrapped her up so she wouldn't panic and took her into his office.

A few minutes later, my cell phone rang. It was the Animal Control Agent. She was a few blocks away looking for me. I told her where the deer was so she could relieve Dr. Darch of the responsibility. She said she couldn't enter Wake Forest city limits. I offered to go back and get the deer and bring it to her. She said that would be fine. She would take the deer from me and put it back where I found it.

"Oh, no! That won't work!" I said. "It was too close to the highway and a busy intersection. She'll get run over."

"We'll take her into the woods so her mother can find her. I'm sure she's looking for her," she said.

"There's a construction site there and I'm not comfortable with that," I said.

"The only other option is to euthanize the baby," she said.

"Nope, not an option. We'll let Dr. Darch take care of the baby!"

I'm so glad I left when I did. I think I would have cried or fought with her if she tried to put the baby back or, God forbid, tried to euthanize her. I told my friend, Lisa, about the experience. She says it was divine intervention. Karma via litter! Shoot! I forgot to go back and pick up my plastic bag!

Deer, Squirrels and Snakes! Oh, My!

It's been a busy wildlife weekend! Some of you who know me also know I tend to be a magnet for weird events with animals.

Saturday night, we went to Pamlico to take care of some repairs on the trailer. Most of the work required Tony's expertise. The rest of us were just along for the ride. Our ever faithful Riley Dog went, too. Early Sunday, he came into our bedroom to let us know he needed to check on the trees in the yard. I jumped in some sweats, grabbed the leash and headed out with my old boy. We got in a good walk, watered a few trees, and left behind a few piles of groceries. On the side of the road, we encountered a killdeer bird who suddenly appeared with her wing at an odd angle and dragging a leg. I recognized this as her effort to deter us from her nest. There on the ground and just two feet from the road was a nest made of seashells with four spotted eggs. They looked more like smooth stones than eggs. Very cool!

With our walk finished, I dawdled up the driveway hunting for sharks teeth. Riley strolled along and ate grass. When he walked behind the trailer, I followed to make sure he didn't ditch me for one of the free-range puppies from the neighborhood. He walked toward a fresh pile of grass at the far end of the yard. I saw one of our bird feeders had fallen and followed. To my horror, Riley walked right up to a fat, brown snake, sniffed it, and contemplated further action. Thank God he recognized my "oh, shit" voice and came quickly when I called his name. I did that butt-squeezing power walk into the trailer and was right proud of myself for not screaming until I was inside. "BIG ASS SNAKE!" roused all of my boys from bed. Tony to the rescue with a shovel and a back-up pellet gun. When he hit the snake with the shovel, it jumped into the air with its pink mouth wide open and showing his fangs. Once home and on-line, Tony looked up the snake and found it was a cottonmouth. They tend to be aggressive. We are fortunate it did not strike my Riley Dog! Involuntary shivers still take control of my body every hour or so! I HATE snakes!

Back in our Wake Forest neighborhood, we stood at the kitchen window this morning to see a new type of squirrel for our neighborhood. It was large red-headed squirrel. Actually, his tail was more red than his head. He played happily with the 6 or 7 grey squirrels that usually hang out at our BIRD feeders. We are hoping more of these red-headed fellows come.

Later in the day...After a trip to Wally World, I pulled into our driveway to see a damn deer casually walking away from just under our kitchen window. She strolled over to the edge of the woods and surveyed where she could find more yummy buds, then disappeared from sight. It was just 2:30 in the afternoon. Tony could see where she had been eating from one of the BIRD feeders. She had rose buds for dessert!

I'm happy to feed the squirrels. I love having my hummingbirds swarm and sword fight over their liquid sugar. My chickens scurrying to catch any morsel the birds drop from the feeder. With Riley's hearing fading away and his need for more frequent naps, I'm thinking I need to borrow Kujo for a couple of weeks to chase away the deer. What kind of dog do we get to scare away the snakes?