fawns -- note to self
Oct. 9th, 2009 03:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
astroaztecDuring the spring there were numerous frosts without much rain. The walnut trees have very few nuts. Many of the apple trees have few fruit, and the ones with fruit are ripening very late. The horse chestnut trees have no nuts. The persimmon trees are producing small fruits which are ripening unusually early.
I can't tell about the acorns on the oaks, but I can tell that the deer are hungry. It's rutting season, but the bucks seem more interested in eating than mating. They even tend to keep on eating while I walk past, and that's unusual for the rutting season.
I surmise that the brief rain we had about a month ago was very good for the deer. They needed the green shoots from that, but I think they've eaten just about all of them. Plainly it will be a very good thing when the remains of typhoon Melor dump moisture on us next week.
This morning I passed two fawns resting, chewing cud. Their mom was there, and an older sister. I had been carrying an apple intended for them, and I stopped to cut it and toss it to them. As I did, two bucks wandered right past me. One was tasting the air where the doe had stood, but then proceeded on to graze.
I watched the fawns with the apples. They had never seen apple. One simply sniffed and moved on. The other took a longer interest, and started trying to eat. Alas, they're also so young that they only know milk and the most tender young green shoots. Eventually a doe came, displaced the fawn, and ate the apple.
Note to self: Cutting an apple into only 5 slices is inadequate for first year fawns.
I can't tell about the acorns on the oaks, but I can tell that the deer are hungry. It's rutting season, but the bucks seem more interested in eating than mating. They even tend to keep on eating while I walk past, and that's unusual for the rutting season.
I surmise that the brief rain we had about a month ago was very good for the deer. They needed the green shoots from that, but I think they've eaten just about all of them. Plainly it will be a very good thing when the remains of typhoon Melor dump moisture on us next week.
This morning I passed two fawns resting, chewing cud. Their mom was there, and an older sister. I had been carrying an apple intended for them, and I stopped to cut it and toss it to them. As I did, two bucks wandered right past me. One was tasting the air where the doe had stood, but then proceeded on to graze.
I watched the fawns with the apples. They had never seen apple. One simply sniffed and moved on. The other took a longer interest, and started trying to eat. Alas, they're also so young that they only know milk and the most tender young green shoots. Eventually a doe came, displaced the fawn, and ate the apple.
Note to self: Cutting an apple into only 5 slices is inadequate for first year fawns.
