Kyril's Journal -- September 22, 2005

Rural TV

Thursday September 22, 2005

The following is a duplicate of an lj post so if you have me on your friend’s list you most likely will have seen it – A Rural TV Moment.

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I got up later than usual today and so am moving rather slowly (haven't yet washed, dressed, or exercised). Instead I stood at the kitchen window and watched The Deer and Turkey Show. As the weather changes and we move into fall the deer begin to herd and the turkey collect in larger flocks or so it seems by their presence here. The apple tree at the end of the drive is dropping its precious burden and doing its best to breed through casting its DNA to the ground in the form of food that will be eaten with seeds surviving and planted along with their own bit of fertilizer. This is a regular forage stop for many wildlife as well as the hornet and yellow jackets (or is that just two different words for the same creature?).

Nearly a dozen or so turkeys were parading along the drive by the apple tree. They are hard to count because they not only keep moving about and changing position but they go behind the trunk of trees or clumps of weeds and some times I will see one disappear but two come out the other side. Two deer were eating apples under the apple tree but keeping an eye on the nearby turkeys. Apparently one of the deer simply didn't want to share or perhaps just was feeling territorial (they don't seem to understand that it is actually MY territory:) because it sauntered towards the turkey with its head down. It didn't exactly attack or run at them or behave in a clearly aggressive way. Instead it just walked into their midst and the turkey moved out of the way. They didn't move far. They didn't run. They weren't particularly afraid. They didn't even ruffle their feathers. But they did part and meander a little away with heads held high as if to make their selves as tall as the deer.

I do suspect that one turkey may have pecked at the deer because once it suddenly did a little skip forward getting its back leg out of the way but that was at a place where the weeds obstructed my view of the turkey. That little mystery could be solved by a fly bite as well but I rather like the image of the smaller animal standing up for itself a bit and the larger animal learning a bit of respect and backing off. But it was not a trend and eventually the deer had coralled most of the turkeys to the back of the orchard.

In the meantime the other deer, had drifted off down the driveway and then down the usual trail. The more aggressive deer came back to the apple tree, then suddenly took off down the drive at a run, (well perhaps more of a lope as they can and do run much faster than that even through thicker forest filled with waving branches) then down the trail and I imagined it bleating out a "where did you go", "wait for me", to its traveling companion as it ran. Laughing I turned from the window and made my tea.

Glancing back out the window from time to time in case the show should start up again I saw a raccoon come waddling by the apple tree. It was too late though as I am sure that between the deer and turkey they cleaned up the windfall for the moment. It didn't even pause under the tree and just waddled down the drive to disappear behind a tree leaving another small mystery. Did it climb the tree on the side away from me? Perhaps it headed up and away from me at that point but hidden by the trunk? Or the more unlikely option of could it have a burrow there? Hmmm, do they burrow and nest underground? I don't remember but surely here in WI they must hibernate or something like that during the winter.

Just now as I shared this post with my partner he looked up and there was a buck near the apple tree. It is still in velvet at this time and we couldn't tell whether it was a 4 or 6 prong one. They are so skittish though. It was immediately aware of us as and lifted its head to stare, moved its head and neck back and forth to place us I think, then took off down the drive.

It is a very active day on Rural TV. The Fall Equinox is later this evening but nature has reminded me that it is a special day today. And I am also aware that winter is coming as the animals prepare to make it through. It reminds me of George R.R. Martin's series, which includes "A Game of Thrones" with the motto of the House of Stark, a chilling reminder that "Winter is Coming". And I hope that it is not a social commentary, not a warning of what we face politically in the U.S.A.

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I spent a lot of time reading journals and adding some journals written by people I know from Wipoly to my friend’s list. It was interesting to find them and feel a brief spurt of connection and remembered relationship when I haven’t been actively involved in the group since I began commuting to CA. It served to remind me why I was involved with them in the first place though and in that sense I am sad that my life has gotten … I was going to say more complicated but I really don’t think that is it. It has gotten more restricted. For whatever reason whether it is physical matters (menopause, decrease in energy, tendinitis, etc.) or emotional (relationship problems, lack of emotional resources due to stress, menopause/hormones, depression, etc.) I have had less energy to devote to socializing at this end of my trip cycle. I regret it but haven’t really found a way around it yet.

Tom and I also spent some time looking at land in British Columbia starting from a link sent by a friend who is seriously considering moving there. It was fun. There was a lot of nice places with land for not terribly out or whack pricewise.