On our paseo Monday evening, we had a nice view of the sunset behind the Old House.
And look who was out enjoying the evening with his goat friends.
On our paseo Monday evening, we had a nice view of the sunset behind the Old House.
And look who was out enjoying the evening with his goat friends.
The timing spotting him was incredible. “Eat all the grass you want – leave my tomatoes alone!!”
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We see him nearly every day. I just saw him a few minutes ago. He’s been living in the pasture with our goats since last year. I don’t think he’s ever left it. He’s no threat to our gardens and we enjoy seeing him.
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Oh, he actually lives there and doesn’t leave! I thought he just visited, and you happened to catch him on camera right after your Deerland post.
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Lovely! And considering the problems you have with deer eating your vegetables, I think it is big-hearted of you to take a picture of him and include him on your blog.
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We’re fond of this one. Like many people we have a love/hate relationship with deer. They are beautiful creatures, unless they’re eating your gardens or crashing through your windshield. This guy has never harmed a garden. Of course I wouldn’t feed him corn or try to tame him. He’s bonded with our goats for some reason and has become quite the community celebrity. But I expect one of our local hunt-from-the-truck crowd will shoot him this fall. I hope it doesn’t happen and I if catch them I’ll have them prosecuted, but he’s just too easy a target for those who enjoy killing deer.
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Good luck to that deer! May he survive hunting season and stay away from your gardens.
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” I’ll have them prosecuted” – sounds like your training is coming through and coming in handy!
I wonder if that guy will be getting into the winter shelters with the goats. How is your goat buck reacting to this competition?
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He already sleeps with them in their shed. My guess is that when his hormones kick into gear in a couple of months he’ll go off in search of a mate. I haven’t seen any evidence that Abraham (our buck) considers the deer to be competition. Let’s hope it stays that way!
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this is non-sequiter: Spouse informed me she is having Noble Pest Control spray (around our house) for mosquito; and when I do an internet search, those who do this also mention “tick control.” My personal objections: 1) it is the aerial watering that encourages and actually breeds the mosquito (here); 2) what is the point of doing for one piece of property – mosquito does not see or observe property lines; 3) what about sensitivity (by everyone). There are some parts of Virginia where an entire County rejects any “spraying for mosquito” for such concerns, no matter how bad the breeding and multiplying.
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I probably shouldn’t take sides in your disagreement, but if I did, I’m pretty sure you know which side I’d take. 🙂 You might look into getting some bat boxes and encouraging the bat population.
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I second the idea of working with Nature to reduce mosquito populations for these TWO reasons, at the very least… More than one species (birds, bats, etc.) rely on insects for food AND any poison will eventually make its way up through the food chain to us – becoming more concentrated as it goes.
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I knew bats (eat insects) but had not considered making a house and positioning: http://www.batmanagement.com/Batcentral/batboxes/whyfail.html
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Apparently dengue, West Nile, and Chikungunya aren’t problems in Virginia. If mosquitos were just buzzy, itch-producing pests, that would be one thing. But the diseases are on the move, and the vector is the mosquito.
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Beautiful! I’ve been working on my husband to try and do the paseos as well. It’s not every day, but at least a few times a week.
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Once you get into the regular practice of doing it, it will just be a natural part of your evening. That’s how it worked for us at least. Now we just automatically go for a paseo after supper. It would seem strange not to.
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I really like the idea of your paseo. I might steal it 🙂
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Ah, so very cool! 😀
Witnessing a peaceable interspecies interaction never fails to suddenly catapult me into what seems like a different paradigm. It just doesn’t ever stop being a novelty (to put it prosaically)—or maybe, rather, a touch of grace.
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I agree that interspecies friendships can be heartwarming. Someone sent us a video today of goat kids jumping and playing on a Great Pyrennes guard dog and it reminded me of our dog Joey (may he rest in peace) and how closely attached he was to the goats. My guess is that this deer lost his mother during hunting season last year and took up with the goats when he realized she wasn’t coming back. It’s been interesting watching him grow up in the pasture. He’s not tame like the goats, but he’s not as afraid of humans as “normal” deer. And he’s adopted the goats’ practice of sleeping at night and foraging during the day (deer do the opposite).
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I can see why you delight in your buck. I hope he survives the hunting season. It’s amazing how even the so-called tame ones continue to carry that sixth sense. I hope he has it.
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We’ve already seen two trucks, equipped with dog cages and the stickers that certain deer hunters prefer, stop along the road as if they’re scoping out the site. He’s not as afraid of humans as he ought to be and he’s adopted the goats’ practice of foraging in the day and sleeping at night. A buck grazing in an open pasture in the middle of the day will be an inviting target for the unscrupulous knuckleheads who trespass and shoot from the road. But you’re right that the deer have learned to make themselves scarce once the shooting starts.
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Well Bill, if they do try, sure hoping they’re a lousy shot. It certainly isn’t very sporting – shooting an animal standing in someone’s pasture – to me, it’s pretty much the same as shooting ducks on the water… The Unwritten Rule. Just. Not. Done.
But hey, “honour” and “sportsmanship” probably aren’t in these guys’ vocabulary.
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