June 26, 2013 Summer is here!

The thunder storms are rolling through this afternoon.  I kind of expected that to happen sooner or later, now that it warmed up and is giving us summer temps.  Yesterday was 84 degrees.  Hot!  I was on the shore for about an hour and a half and it was  56 degrees down there.  That is a drastic change in temperature.  I'm used to having 10 degrees worth of difference...or there-abouts.....but, wow!  That gets ones' attention.
Our gardens, with the new spaces, are ready for business.  They are fenced.  I quite frequently see Shadow or Zoe and their kids moseying around the fence, nibbling.  A few of them know what tasty morsels they got to help themselves to after the frosts last year.  They are probably keeping a close eye on that situation for the coming season.
Plants are coming along nicely, in the beds, that were started early.  A lot of the seeds planted directly into the beds are up now too.  I can't wait for the fresh vegies to start happening.

The deer are now bringing the fawns to the yard to play on a more regular basis.  There is a plus to this....mom can nibble and still see what those romping, charging kids are doing.  That doesn't happen in the woods this time of the year.  Growth is lush and you can't see very darned far. 
Yesterday morning, I was just finishing with my weekly orchid maintenance after breakfast....putting the last liner with an orchid in back in its pot, when my husband lets go that there's a $#@*& bear out there.  I guess it was about 200 pounds.  I never did see it.  It was just out of my vision where the pot was.   He was running out to get Toby and I was running for the camera and out on the deck......but, it was gone!  Usually, the bears aren't gone that fast out here.  I prowled around for a few minutes and decided there wasn't going to be a photo.  As long as I was out though, I decided to water the hanging pots.  About that time, northwest of the house, a fawn started bawling, which didn't last very long.  I though oh-oh!  That don't sound good.  Bear just in the vicinity looking for a meal.....not good at all.  The does had been spending quite a bit of time in the yard already this a.m., which I thought was strange.  Usually, this time of year, there isn't quite that much action at once.  Above doe had been out there with her twins.  Several other named does had been out there without theirs.  Sooo.......hmmmm.
Well, I have seen this doe with her kids several times since the bear was here.  Shadow has been out here with her twins.....in fact, she was out here a few minutes ago.  Zoe, however, has not had her fawn with her since the incident....not yesterday.....or today.  And....she has had that fawn out here a lot. 

Here she is, this afternoon, just before the storm hit.  She had been laying there for well over an hour, which is a spot right outside the window, close by the house.  That is fine if she wants to lay there.  Deer do it all the time.  However, it seems a long time when you have a fawn to be concerned about.  So, I guess time will tell if she needed a break...or if she lost her fawn once again to wolves or bears.  She lost her last years fawn to the wolves.  She lost her first fawn when she was two years old to a wolf or bear also.  She is just over 6 years old.  So, this girl hasn't got a real good track record.  But....she has really been hanging close this year  .....which is why we have seen so much of her fawn. 
Shadow, on the other hand, has raised all of her fawns to adulthood....so far.  Knock on wood!  She is also six years old this spring. 

Here is a photo from a few days ago I took of Zoe and her fawn.  I wanted to show the big scar on her side from when she was two years old and had the whole hide ripped off her side.....from front shoulder to hip.  The hide hung by her hip a while and finally fell off.  She had her whole side showing bare red meat to the elements all summer while that was healing.  It wasn't pretty and the flies chewed the heck out of her.  But, it healed nicely.  The scar, this much later, is very visible. 
Nature isn't always pretty, for sure.  But, survival of the fittest.  I guess she is tough.  I had wondered at the time if she would survive that.  I have seen, in winters past, some deer come through here with big chunks out of their hide and meat taken off their rumps.  They live.  It heals.  It is pretty amazing.  I have learned a lot watching these specific deer these years up here.....and what they can take.
Well, the storm seems to have ended.  There are still clouds around but not so dark.  I will leave you with one more storm cloud....I always think they are neat to look at.