Hungry Critters

Just as Summer "falls" into Autumn, hungry critters arrive from the forested area across the road. They are getting ready for Winter and bulking up on anything that is remotely edible.

During Summer's abundance they make less frequent appearances to the common areas around my condo-home.

Now is the time I can view wildlife right outside my front door and have a few wild adventures, like the one a week ago when I had to rescue my cat, Junie, from the wild turkeys!

Behind my garage, the "Band of Four", that stalked and cornered Junie behind a shrub against one of the condos, seem oblivious to foul play other than their own.

This turkey may be listening for a worm wriggling beneath the lawn.

The deer seem particularly voracious! They eat things at this time of year that deer "are not supposed to eat". Right! Like our neighbor-shared rhubarb's leaves, a neighbors hosta, and my beloved comfrey...

Near the shrub in the bottom left of the photo sits Junie aka "Mr. Curious". Just as curious is the mother doe looking at Junie while her two half-grown fawns munch the landscaping. My upper story front porch offers a great spot to sit at the bistro table and observe the goings on below.

Mom keeps a watch. Faint spots still can be seen on the fawn on the right.

Mr. Curious himself. I suspect he thought the turkeys were just bigger chickens. When we lived at our old Heartsease Cottage he had a cautious relationship with our Chicken Girls.

Junie used to like to hide around a corner of one of the many back garden paths at the Cottage and when an unsuspecting hen rounded the corner, Junie would leap out and startle the chicken who would spring straight up into the air with a squawk. Quickly, Junie would sprint away from the chicken because all too often she might chase him. Or, if his getaway was too slow she could bean him on the noggin, hard, with her beak for the outrage he had perpetrated. I had other barn cats that liked this game, as well.

This is also the time of year when the Canadian geese that live around the lake get restless and take to the air, circling and honking.

Shorter day lengths might be causing them to think about flying south, although some of our geese don't leave because residents feed them.

Leaving or staying

Later in Autumn a covey of quail that frequent our commons will fly up into the apple tree just beyond my balcony to feast on the ripe crab apples. The tiny "crabby" little fruits are about the size of a cherry, yellow with a pink blush and very b-i-t-t-e-r!!!

The quail relish them and the tree will host 15 to 20 of them scampering along the branches and perching on eaves and balcony railing.

To me it's a magical sight to watch the comings and goings of the wild creatures of the forest.