Wildlife, the Bad and the Good

- 4 minutes read - 761 words

I’m a little late writing this, sorry. Today I’m going to write about wildlife. I’ve had two experiences with wildlife in the last week or so that I want to tell you about, dear reader, one good, one bad.

First, the bad, to get it out of the way. I discovered that I have mice in the house. I’m not exactly surprised, as I’d discovered a couple of mice nesting in a shop vac the previous owner had left in the (detached, unsealed, completely uninsulated) garage. But I started noticing what I was pretty sure was mouse droppings under the sink in the kitchen, then I noticed a couple of kids treats that were gnawed open and eaten. One rice cripsy treat, one mini candy bar. Not like the kids snuck them and ate them, but like something with very small, very sharp teeth had opened them. So I took a quick trip to the nearest home improvement store and bought some Tom Cat bait stations.

Over the next few days, I noticed that some of the bait had been taken, particularly under the kitchen sink, though not in the pantry. But over the last few days I haven’t seen any evidence of either mice, or them taking the bait. So hopefully it was just a couple of mice in the walls, and they’re taken care of. The instructions on the bait stations say to leave them out for at least 15 days, so I’ll do that, and then probably leave the ones that are most out of the way in place anyway, just in case.

What’s got me intrigued is that the main signs of activity are under the sink. I think that’s because the sprayer nozzle leaks a bit, and there was a steady supply of water under there, though I imagine there are other places where they could get water without much difficulty. I’ve been leaving the water sprayer sitting in the sink, since it was leaking at the sprayer itself, not anywhere else, so hopefully that leaves them with a less comfortable home.

Now, on to the fun part. Last night, I poured myself a drink just before sunset, and walked out onto the deck. As I did, I realized there were two deer feeding not 40 feet from me, on the lawn over the septic drain field. So I sat there and watched, and a few minutes later, 6 other deer came up out of the creek bottom behind the house and started feeding nearby. At least one of the two that was there originally went and fought with the others, I’m guessing the ones I originally saw were two bucks, but they’d already shed their antlers, and the group of 6 was a big buck, also already shed, 4 smaller deer, and a yearling fawn.

Well anyway, they fought a bit, separated a bit to keep in different areas, then continued feeding. I watched them for a good 20 minutes or more, as the light faded. They occasionally alerted, looking around, but mostly at other things, though at least a couple of times, they made eye contact with me. But I was on the second floor, and the ground slopes away pretty steeply behind there, so I guess they didn’t think I was much of a threat.

As it got darker, the wind shifted and swirled, and I guess they started to get my scent even more strongly, as they started acting more and more spooked. Eventually they all wandered away to the southeast, behind a pine thicket that prevented me from really seeing where they were going. As they went, I counted 9 deer, the original two being the last to leave, and one that seemed to be on it’s own, or was just trailing behind the group of 6, and I hadn’t seen before.

All in all, it was a really neat experience, I love being up close to nature like that, and I like to know that they want to come say hi. By hunting season next year, I’ll hopefully have planted a food plot there, maybe something that also feeds bees, and I’ll have to get set up with archery equipment so I can fill the freezer from the back porch. I suppose I could use a rifle or muzzle loader as well, as I’d be shooting straight down and into an unpopulated area, but there’s enough stone around that I’d be a bit worried about a ricochet.

Anyway, that will do it for this week, talk to you again soon.