Babies in Our Backyard, Part 1

Well, good morning!

I know, how lucky are we to have this kind of wildlife just outside our doors, right? The dogs think it’s quite an enormous responsibility, keeping all these interlopers out of their territory, and most of the time, it’s okay. (Having survived a coyote attack a few years ago, Myshkin frantically informs us – from the safety of the yard – whenever one of these bad guys is around.)

Deer, rabbits, bear, bobcat, eagles, owls, we’ve got lots of interesting wildlife, but the deer are by far our most frequent visitors.

When the dogs see the deer, the predator switch flicks on and they lose their small minds. But their prey just looks up as if to say, “Seriously. You’re going to chase US?” Then they take one leap and disappear, leaving the dogs hopelessly snarled in blackberry brambles.

But when there are new-born fawns, it’s a different story.

A few weeks ago, we noticed one doe hanging around behind our house. Apparently Mama-Deer had a new fawn tucked away up there, because every time the dogs went up the mountain, instead of running away, Mama-Deer charged at them. Well, I should say “him.” Addie and Gemma like to bark, but let’s face it. Neither of them are exactly … athletically inclined. So Myshkin’s the only one who can even get near the deer.

Well. The look on his face was priceless. You could tell he was thinking: “Hold ‘er Newt. Who changed the rules to this game? I’m the chase-er, not the chase-ee.”

But he’s no dummy. He saw the crazed-mother look and I don’t know, maybe he recognized it. At any rate, he turned right around and left her alone.

And then, a few days later, we were rewarded when Baby popped out to greet us.

Don't mind me. I'm just getting to know the world.

Yesterday, I saw Baby again, under very different circumstances. Stay tuned, I’ll tell you all about it shortly.