We had Rain today! & it is rutting season for deer!
Or dear and there they were!
We had rain today and a huge rainbow! The rain came pouring down at first and of course I had to be out there in it! A long time coming it seems! We have needed rain so badly here in California. The ongoing drought has been dire and impacting all of us here— humans, wildlife, and ecosystems alike.
Here in town, we are now out of Emergency Drought Stage 4 where mandatory
reductions in water use were in play— that is if you had water and were on the municipal water. Many folks’ wells outside of town were going dry. Our small city had been giving out water conservation kits at the weekly framer’s market here, including buckets to capture water while showering and rinse water when doing dishes. I have several buckets and carry out water daily to water my plants including my modest veggie garden. Various buckets for various water flows— can get complicated but worth it!
We are now in Drought Stage 2 which is a combination of voluntary and some
mandatory restrictions of water use.
Rutting season is also here as in the mating time for deer. Bucks have a one-track mind chasing does and none are paying attention as they traverse across our highways and streets. These bucks are powerful creatures. You do not want to mess with them.
I live on kind of an urbanized flat ridge surrounded on either side with wooded areas that drop down and along a river below and logging road on the other side and guess what I ran into as I was walking the grounds through my apartment complex- an impressive buck! I was not at all into walking up to the buck to try to determine if he had a 4 point or 6-point antler—the husky guy was formidable enough for me to scoot aside from where he and a doe were standing. I am not into deer drama.
Here on the Mendocino Coast we co-exist with all sorts of wildlife that are found in our Redwood forests, oak woodlands, coastal prairies, and throughout our ecological staircase, ocean and coastal habitats, sand dunes, and wetlands.
I have seen often outside my door or on trails that I walk, bobcats, weasels, racoons, possums, foxes and assorted birds including ravens, hawks, turkey vultures, gulls, etc. Redwood forests alone support more than two hundred different above ground critters like bats, squirrels, chipmunks, mice, banana slugs, frogs, salmon, toads, salamanders, snakes, lizards. The most famous of birds in the Redwood Forest are the marbled murrelets and spotted owls. And then there are coyotes, deer and bear and further up north elk-- all track across this terrain that we share with them. Then there are the marine mammals and shore birds.
I have encountered mountain lions while I was in my car but never a bear (yet). Many friends have stories of bear visitors or mountain lions- some even caught on a few wildlife cameras.
I love the story of a friend who had a bear in her kitchen eating from a box of cereal. She and her housemate had annoyed the bear by banging pots and pans and it left never to be seen again.
Mountain lions! I try to avoid areas or trails at dusk or dawn. While driving along a 2-lane highway mountain road with ridges of forests around me – there was a mountain lion feasting on a fresh deer kill in the middle of the road staring at me like a deer in headlights. It nonchalantly dragged the carcass off to the side and I just kept on going. I am not brave enough to take a selfie even from inside my car!
Like all wildlife, deer, mountain lions are best observed and kept at a safe distance.
Resources:
California Dought Map: https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap
California Department of Water Resources: https://water.ca.gov/water-basics/