[Magdalen] wildlife and not-so-wildlife report

[Don Boyd]

Our suburban neighborhood is host (well, not exactly; the deer were here 
first) to a herd (maybe a dozen or so) of white tail deer, and they are 
indeed fascinating to watch--fawns, young bucks testing their fighting 
skills, several does and one older (and rarely seen in front yards near the 
street) buck with an impressive rack.   I am told that deer rarely go more 
than a mile away from their birthplaces, and although residential 
development has constricted their range the deer herd has survived at its 
present size for several years.  Their only natural predators hereabouts are 
coyotes, but since household pets are easier prey for the coyotes than the 
deer the main danger for deer (apparently not among the brightest of fauna) 
is the automobile.

Home gardeners here know which plants deer will leave alone unless they're 
starving (there's no such thing as an absolutely deer-proof plant) and which 
plants one may as well not try to grow unless they wish to provide candy for 
the deer.  Garden centers and the county agricultural extension office 
provide lists of "deer-resistant" landscape plants.  (These tend to be 
bitter-tasting, thorny, or hairy.)

Don in (droughty) Austin
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "James Oppenheimer" <oppenheimerjw at gmail.com>
To: "Magdalen at herberthouse.org" <magdalen at herberthouse.org>
Sent: Friday, October 24, 2014 11:48 AM
Subject: Re: [Magdalen] wildlife and not-so-wildlife report


Yes, nothing is quite as joyful as joy!

We have a number of deer in our yard.  A special treat are the fawns,
especially when they are obviously out with mom for the first few times.
They will frolic, sometimes two or more together, and sometimes they even
get mom involved for a moment or two.

Pure joy.

James W. Oppenheimer
*“If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better
for people coming behind you, and you don’t do it, you're wasting your time
on this Earth.”  -- *Roberto Clemente

On Fri, Oct 24, 2014 at 11:09 AM, Jay Weigel <jay.weigel at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hawk migration is in full flight currently, and S/O reported seeing 6 of
> them in our yard this morning, some of them quite big. I am really sorry 
> to
> have missed them! They seem to overnight in the wooded area behind our
> house. We are also hearing owls calling one another back there at night, 
> so
>  it appears to be courtin' time for them. Now that the leaves have mostly
> fallen we can see the deer as they make their trek back and forth down the
> hill. There seems to be lots to eat as they look very well-nourished this
> fall.
>
> Yesterday S/O was standing at the kitchen sink and called to me, "I think
> Cat the Younger has caught something out there." I joined him to look out
> and it soon became apparent to me that the black and white Rodent Control
> Officer, the one I call Deputy, was simply having a wonderful time playing
> in the leaves, rolling in them and kicking them up into the air. He's a 
> big
> cat, I think quite likely the son or brother of the one who took up
> temporary residence with us last summer, who he greatly resembles except
> for being black and white instead of gray and white. He's also a good deal
> less approachable, but yesterday he was just like a kitten, playing in
> those leaves in the sunshine for about ten minutes. Such a joy to watch!
>