A Day of Wildlife

Yesterday started in the same manner as it always does with a large group of deer grazing along the driveway. There is at least one set of twin fawns that I see on a regular basis as well as a couple of albino deer. The deer pretty much ignore our presence and carry on with their usual activities as we mill about the barns doing chores. Mixed in with the deer was a large flock of turkeys, a couple of them with groups of baby turkeys (chicks??) running along behind them.

Later in the morning I was traipsing through a pasture when some movement in the grass caught my eye. I stopped so I could watch more closely and realized it was a groundhog making his/her way through the field. I have to admit the little suckers are awfully cute. A couple of times he stopped, sat on his haunches, and looked at me for a moment before continuing on his way. However my other thought as I watched him, which I am sure I will get thoroughly roasted for, was that if I had a rifle handy I would have shot him. Whenever we find their holes we fill them in with a couple of bags of concrete, but they just make another hole.

My final wildlife encounter was towards the end of the day. I was walking through another pasture when I noticed some movement. Again I stopped to assess the situation and realized it was a skunk that was making its way towards me. It was an albino skunk, white with a black stripe. The skunk actually didn’t concern me too much since they are typically skittish creatures. I made a point of clapping my hands and talking very loudly so he would know I was there and change course.

Except he did not change course and kept heading straight towards me. He picked up speed. I picked up speed. I kept clapping my hands and making noise. He kept coming. I figured, no problem, I’ll just jog to the fence and hop over and be out of his path. The only problem with that plan was the hotwire on the top board of the fence which I momentarily forgot about. After voluntarily testing the charge on the hotwire ( for anybody who is wondering I can report it is VERY hot; I think I only jumped back about three feet and of course said some not very nice words) I sprinted for the gate and got out of dodge. Any day is a good day when you avoid being skunked.

That thankfully ended my wildlife encounters for the day, and I was glad.

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Lily