8/1/17 Chatterbox
Betty Kaiser
It’s a typical summer
day at our house. The sun is shining, the bees are buzzing and the flowers are
in full bloom. I’m writing this column sitting outside and counting my blessings
as I listen to the squirrel’s chatter at the bird feeder while a variety of
birds and our two Dachshunds try and chase them away. I love living in the
country.
I am a born and bred
big-city girl but every summer my family vacationed at our cabin in Crestline
in the San Bernardino Mountains. It was there that I learned to love fresh air,
listen to the mysterious sounds of critters in the forest, ride horseback and
watch the black bear families forage at midnight through a nearby dump by the
headlights of visitor’s cars.
It was also there
that I learned to love birds and enjoy the fun side of my grandfather. Grandpa
J.D., the business man, always wore a 3-piece suit in the city. In the mountains,
he wore casual clothes and trained Blue Jays to sit on his finger. He would sit
for hours, gently tugging a peanut on a string, enticing the birds to come
closer. It took days but ultimately, they became friends and a peanut award
awaited them. I never mastered that art.
I always dreamed that
someday we would live on a tree-lined property, near a lake. Well, surprise!
Dreams do come true. Twenty-eight years ago, we moved to Cottage Grove Lake where all kinds of
adventures awaited.
Our animal adventures
began immediately. The first critters that we heard were scratching in the
walls of our bedroom! Our house had been unoccupied for awhile and MICE moved
in. They were not welcome and had to go. Later, on a walk, a fox ran through
the meadow and a bear surprised us at the lake by scrambling down a nearby hill.
Across the street
from our house, a lot of squawking was going on. Looking up we saw the biggest
nest ever—an Osprey family had hatched their noisy chicks. Their parents were
vigilant and protective. One day I looked up to see an eagle headed down the
creek towards the nest flanked by two Osprey. It wisely turned away from the
chicks before a confrontation.
Whenever logging goes
on up the hill from us it chases wildlife out of their habitat into our
neighborhood. Our former neighbors, Jay and Audrey, had a pond on their
property that a local cougar claimed as his own! Summer days he would sprawl
out on the street in front of their house and at night come onto the property
for a drink! He was also interested in their sheep but their Dobermans and a
tight barn kept them safe. Rumor is that there’s been another cougar down at
the lake recently.
One morning Audrey
called to say that there were three long-horn cattle on their property. Did I
know who they belonged to? I didn’t but someone later claimed them. Another day
we woke up to three ponies at the back fence trailing their ropes. Their owners
also found them. And then there was what the cat drug in. One day Misty Mouser
came home from the meadow dragging a rabbit! He was still alive and we took him
back to the park.
Learning to co-exist
with the deer is an ongoing battle. They love our roses—all 75 bushes. Early on
they circled the property during the day scouting out their nighttime dessert.
At dusk, they sometimes would just camp out on the driveway where they made a
friend of Lady, our German Shepherd! Deer and dog would greet and touch noses
like old friends!
The same deer regularly decimated the
vegetable garden until Chuck built a Stalag 17 type enclosure and now the
tomatoes and cucumbers grow in peace. It took hot wires around the rose beds to
protect the flowers. Of course, we must be careful if there’s a power outage.
Critters know when that hot wire is cold!
Recently, I saw the sweetest sight
ever. It was evening and a tiny newborn fawn on wobbly legs was following her
little mama up the road to a safe place. Absolutely precious. Oh, how I love
country living!
Betty
Kaiser’s Chatterbox is about people, places, family, and other matters of the
heart.
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