Back to Nature

I forgot what it's like to be living back up in nature again -- I love it!! My mom & dad are out of town on a motorcycle trip now so Eric and I have been holding down the fort. I always knew there were a lot of deer up in the woods and we have been seeing plenty of them. Last night I went to sit down at the computer and I happened to glance out the window and there were two young bucks with velvet on their antlers!! It's kind of hard to see in the picture, but it's pretty cool to see in real life. They didn't know we were there (until my camera flash caught their attention). Then we saw two doe's grazing beside them. Must have been some teenagers out on the town!! They stayed around the house for quite a while (until I let the dogs out and then they split). A few minutes later I was watering the flowers and I walked along the deck and there was another young female just 50 feet from me. She stopped, looked at me, looked at the dog (who was sniffing in the dirt) and just kept sauntering on. She would have stayed close, too, but the dog saw her and chased her, barking. But I have no doubt they'll be back.

A few days ago we saw a momma and two fawns (with spots!!) in the front yard. They stayed around for a while, too. We regularly see turkeys in the front yard early in the morning. The other morning I let the dogs out early (like 5 am) and saw a family of Turkeys (two adults and a handful of chicks) by the bird bath. They left, but they didn't appear to be too alarmed by us.

My dad has also been sustaining and expanding the entire chipmunk community around our house. He's been putting out corn and seeds for them. Those little devils are everywhere -- they get pretty bold, too. Last weekend I was sitting on the patio with the dog's water dish 2 feet from me. I watched as this little chipmunk skittered across the tile jumped onto the dish and drank himself full. I even moved my foot to see if he'd run away, but he just stayed put.

I love living in the woods!!