Back in the wooded lot...

I  haven't posted about the wooded lot for a while. Things were pretty quiet for a long time but now that it's turned cold, the birds and beasties are coming around. The main attraction seems to be the pan of water I set out every day. The squirrels, a large variety of birds and the four turkey boys come around to quench their thirst.

I recently started getting deer coming at night for a drink. I had a lot of family visiting over the Thanksgiving weekend and my grandson and three great-grands were delighted when three deer showed up outside my bedroom window in the early evening. There is a light on the side of the building so they were clearly visible.

                                          (Borrowed image)
So far I've only been putting out birdseed and bread or fruit scraps. With the loss of the bread thrift store where we were buying a trunk-full of stale bread for $5, I'm not sure how I'll feed them over the winter. I really hope I'll locate another resource somewhere soon.

                                        (Borrowed image)
Once we get some snow, the animals won't need the water anymore. Right now, with everything so dry there is a constant stream of birds and animals drinking at the water pan. I'm using the bottom tray from a large flower pot.

Sometimes I can hardly believe how very lucky I am to have all this wonderful wildlife right outside my window! 

Welcome Spring!

The deer abides

I had seen the doe in the wooded lot several times since Memorial Day weekend, but had not seen the fawn. I worried that the fawn might have died or been abandoned. Then, yesterday morning, I sat on my patio watching my herd of three kitties when the lady whose lot backs up on the wooded lot jumped up the retaining wall. She advanced toward me holding her camera and smiling. She came to show me pictures she had taken the previous evening of the doe and her healthy fawn browsing in her garden.

This pretty young neighbor is an Hispanic immigrant but speaks pretty good English. She's an avid gardener and has lots of flower beds, a strawberry patch and various vegetables planted all over.  She laughed as she told me that she had counted 14 roses ready to bloom on her bushes only to find them all eaten the following morning. A tomato plant was denuded and other plants were picked over. Yet, the joy of having these animals so close was so much fun that she didn't mind. She was posting the pictures on her Facebook page for all her friends and relatives. (However, she did talk about buying some fox urine concentrate to spray around the veggies.)

This sweet gal throws stale bread into the woods for the birds and squirrels (as I do) and laughs off the garbage pail raids of racoons, squirrels and crows. She was amazed at the big hole gnawed in the lid of the garbage pail, but didn't complain.

She is my kind of neighbor and I treasure her dearly.