An eventful morning in the ongoing saga of our backyard was preceded by a strange evening. After buying begonias, with the cats we sat outside and allowed mosquitoes to infect us with the West Nile virus. K pruned flowers. Jane and I played. Meanwhile, Bingley discovered a stalk of catnip growing out of an old flower bed. Years ago it must have been planted; Bingley now insists that we cultivate it. Later, as it was growing dark, I looked down the way and saw, to my surprise, a large catlike creature. It had a long, scraggly tail, much like a possum, but it seemed larger than a possum; its legs were long, and it slinked. After putting the cats back inside, I went to investigate, but didn’t see anything. Except for the fact that it didn’t act like a possum, I think that’s what it must have been.

This morning for the first time we watched a deer tread gingerly up the yard. She was young I think, but fully grown. Every few steps she’d stop and wait, then move closer and closer to the house. I hoped she’d come close enough to catch the cats’ attention. I wondered what they’d do: once, I watched my mom’s enormous, vicious tomcat stalk four deer in her husband’s yard. The deer ignored him, but on his belly he crept, closer and closer, fascinated. No similar luck this time, however. Where she is in the photo below is as close as she got (about 30 yards; click for a larger look).

As you can tell by the shadow in the foreground, Bingley was completely uninterested. In the yard at the same time as the deer was something much more interesting…

Comments