MY HEART IS POUNDING: Those of you who have visited this house know my neighbor Angie and I have a bit of a fortress surrounding the back yards. Most of the yard space has 6 privacy fence surrounding it (though I admit my side of the wooden fence is *barely* there, but it is reinforced so it stands continuous and no dogs may slip away). There are several (three, exactly) places where chain link gates, slightly lower, lead to compost pile, front yard and sidewalk. While we get the occasional raccoon or brave possum, the yards have few mammalian visitors that are not invited in through the garages by people. Some of you may recall the mysterious appearance of a black dog on my side of the fence one morning this year, a happening that still has me scratching my head in wonder. This morning as I went out with the dogs for the morning ritual, both hounds went tearing toward the wisteria trellis and gate that separates Angies back yard from mine. I could hear something large running in Angies back yard and by the time Id gotten to the wisteria, my eyes had adjusted well enough to see. Two DEER in her backyard, racing, racing, racing her far fenceline wooden fence privacy fence tall fence, looking for a way out. SkitterBug (who loves the smell of deer) began to try to push under the gate. I watched, feeling helpless, as they raced and raced her backyard. Finally, I decided there was nothing for it: I needed to go open her back gate and let the deer out. I had visions of death by accidental panicked deer-kick to the head. I steeled myself, shoved Skitter out of the way, and went in. The deer raced to the back of the fence where the tallest gate (the gate Id hoped to open) is. I heard a THUD. I cried out. I heard another THUD. I cried out again. I went around the corner: both deer were gone. They had jumped the 6 wooden fence. I opened the gate to the alley (all 6 of the gate to the alley), visions of broken deer in my head. No deer. Gone. Vanished down the small-town alley toward, I hope, the safety of the woods and the floodwall. I have lived here now for over a decade and Ive never seen a deer more than one house past the floodwall. This house is about two long blocks in from the floodwall. To say that I am filled with wonder, both that they came this far from the river and also managed to get in our backyards....well, that would be an understatement. And now I have the mysterious guests for the year: two deer, a black dog. Sounds like poem-food to me.
Posted on: Thu, 05 Jun 2014 09:59:27 +0000
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