Dark of the Moon
It is that time, a scant few hours before down that is absent most life. The vampires are headed quietly to bed. The werewolves are tucked snuggly in their human forms with the full moon a distant future. This only leaves the idiot deer out for a stroll down from the hills. They wander down through Codornices Park and out into our neighborhood at Eunice and Euclid. Not completely stupid, they are trading the hills, picked over vegetation and mountain lions for groomed lawns and gardens.
“Deer in the headlights” is not just an expression. When hit suddenly with light in the pre-dawn hours they freeze followed by a mad dash in a random direction. That direction can and does include straight into whatever car startled them in the first place. Not being a fan of deer as hood ornaments or grill decorations my instinct was to slam on the brakes while hitting the horn. Normally I am not a fan of disturbing my neighbors before 0515 in the morning. But cleaning deer guts off the car is not exactly something I had scheduled into my plans for the day.
Luck was with me. The lead deer veered off at the last minute with the rest of the thundering pests right on his tail. I was left with an excess of adrenalin. Making it the last few blocks up the hill to the house, I parked and climbed out on trembling legs.
I have finally found a positive thing about living on a hill. By the time I had climbed the hill followed by the stairs to the house my shakes had completely worn off. Going back to bed looked really good about then.
Glad you are OK!
Agreed, on ALL points. My local hunter took his 4th “prize” from the back yard a couple of days ago and they do get the idea after a while. Instead of the full herd we used to get on a nightly basis, the adult max is 2-3, not counting infants with no experience to learn from
So – are you getting the hides?
Yes we are. (Said a bit smugly.)
Glad you were safe!
Not enough hunters any more.
too may bleeding heart liberals who feed the stupid things. And not enough wolves and mountain lions.
My closest encounter was with an elk at the entrance to Crater National Park. With not a tree or shrub in sight for miles, driving through the crater to the museum at the prescribed 25mph speed limit, I was totally taken off guard when an elk darted over a small mound (which had evidently hidden his presence) and froze what seemed like inches from my bumper. If not for my quick reaction to steer in the opposite direction, I am sure explaining how I did not see a brown elk against the brown barren landscape would have been quite embarrassing, (not to mention how terrible I would have felt). We had lots of deer in this area 20 years ago. Alas, now all the construction has driven them out. You are blessed to still be close enough to an environment that still has abundant wildlife.
no one wants to have a close encounter with any kind of 4-footed hoofed beast. Glad you survived that one!
Personally I would be glad to do without them here. disease vectors…. Bring back the mountain lions and wolves, please!
Have you ever seen what kind of damage a deer can do to a car? I remember an acquaintance of mine hit one on Carmel Valley Road many years ago and totaled it!
yes, I have along with the damage that happens to the person inside the vehicle. Of course, hitting a moose or elk would be worse, but we don’t have them around here….
The deer have invaded our town, too, with a few that live in my yard and make it impossible to grow anything edible. They even nibble on my rhododendrons. They lurk in my driveway, block the door to my house, threaten to attack my dog and myself and my son, and generally drive me crazy. A couple weeks ago a friend was giving me a ride, and when he pulled into our driveway the deer fled, tails up and flagged. He was rather impressed, given that I live RIGHT ON A MAJOR ROAD and 3/4 of a block from another. You have my sympathies.
definite lack of mountain lions and wolves. Failing that – at least a bow & arrow season needs to happen on a regular basis
I have the bow and arrows, unfortunately, they are banned in the city. 🙁
What were you doing up at that time of the morning?
I’ve seen herds of deer roaming around DC, and of course Maine, but so far, not Newton.
Ha!
Your message ended up in the junk folder for no particular reason. Maybe because you mentioned vampires? Yeah, that must be it.
I don’t usually have enough warning to hit the horn for deer. I am thankful not to have hit any. The last pair came prancing out of the dark woods across a freeway exit ramp. The only reason I didn’t hit them is their lucky timing. There was a car in front of me and one behind.