The deer have been making regular rounds to pick on our poor, lone arborvitae, a member of the cedar family. Food in the woods must be mighty scarce. Only once have we seen the deer visit, so they must wander up the hill from the brook, late at night, when we are all sleeping.
Small branches, once green, now yellow, litter the ground under the tree. They have also been chomping off the bark. Rodents will do the same thing in winter, especially to fruit trees.
When there is so much snow, it’s hard to imagine that critters and birds are still “out there” and are ever searching for food.
One night, around Christmas one year, I was staying at my mother’s farm. She was always a nervous Nellie, in the best of times, and was the type to have shades, curtains, and drapes as well. Her living room was like a dark cave, in any season of the year.
Well, I heard a rustle near the window, and being naturally curious, I stood up to go see what the ruckus was all about, much to her chagrin and admonitions. She had phone in hand, poised and ready to call the local police. Pulling back the layers of window protection, I saw two eyes staring back at me. They belonged to a stag with the most remarkable set of antlers I’d ever seen!
Looking more closely, I could see another deer who was also chomping on the arborvitae bushes just under her windows. At the time, there was a light on a tall telephone pole near the large meadow to one side of the house. My folks had moved from the city to the country and were uneasy about not having more light at night so had asked the light company to install the massive and out-of-place light. Under that light, there were several more deer, playing and romping.
So, my fearless attitude saved the day. The town’s one policeman could rest comfortably and not be called out on a chilly winter’s night for some old lady’s notion that her house might be ready to be invaded. Soon after that, though, she had a security alarm installed and I have to hope that it gave her increased mental peace.
Deer show up everywhere, and in the most unlikely places. About ten years ago, one jumped across a busy highway and collided with our car. What had started out to be a quick food shopping trip, out of town, extended into hours of waiting for Jim to get home, not knowing what happened. The deer’s antler had punctured the radiator, and the impact had damaged the car.
When one lives in the city, it’s easy to forget that even moose, bear, coyotes, opossums, raccoons, and many other creatures are around. It’s a thrill to know that we haven’t driven all of these animals to extinction yet, by taking over their habitat.
Today, as we drove along, we noticed more patches of land without any snow. The sun is getting stronger every day. Luckily, February is a month that always seems to go fast. Soon, we will be washing our winter coats, and putting away our winter boots, as we see the first signs of flowers and the earth awakening once again. It will be awhile yet, but there are hopeful signs of Spring.
Patricia Cummings
