But animals in the wild don't have it so easy. They don't have warm homes to come into when their paws and hooves get cold. The ground has been covered with snow for weeks, eliminating the ability to find dry ground to lay on and knocking out food resources for many of them. And there just isn't a local Kroger that the wildlife can go to and pick up eggs and milk.
Unless you are a deer near my parents house. Then you have it made. My parents own 10 acres of woods and field in the middle of town. They even have a little stream running through it. This combination results in the fact that there are always animals around, especially deer. It's almost routine to be driving up the driveway and spot one or two somewhere on the property. They grow all sorts of beautful plants, flowers, shrubs, and trees and the deer just love to peruse- it's like a buffet for them. Once winter hits, many of those food sources go away, but the deer still hang out to some degree. Some of them even have names, they come so frequently. My parents can tell which babies belong to who, and my step-dad mentioned that he has one of the little ones almost coming right up to him.
Tonight I was over at my parent's house and happened to look out the window. The house is at the top of a hill and affords a great view of most of the property. I was stunned to see upward of 20 deer spread out from one end to the other. Some were alone, milling around, while others pranced and galloped together like it was recess. There were 2 bucks that I could see, and several that looked quite young. I couldn't believe how they could run around and play when it was literally freezing rain out there. I would never survive as a wild animal- if survival of the fittest doesn't include plumbing and someplace warm and dry I would definately be screwed.
I mentioned casually to my step-dad that at least they didn't look like they were starving- they were all healthy sized and obviously happy as they enjoyed the last few hours before darkness set in. He chuckled and mentioned that they should look fat, as much corn as he had put out for them. When I turned to look at him questioningly, he said that he had laid out over 50 pounds of corn for them this winter. Well...no wonder there were 20 deer in his backyard. It made me smile- he's such a good guy.
As I continued to watch playtime, I noticed a deer that had hopped the outer fence and was walking up toward the house. There are several birdfeeders near the top of the hill, and this deer had figured out that she didn't need to fight over the corn when there was a birdfeeder she could have all to herself. I could tell she saw us at the window, as she would pause every once in a while and look right at us. But then she would kind of shrug like we weren't all that interesting and delicately put her tongue into the birdfeeder for a snack. Pretty smart for a wild animal.
The wind is howling ourside my window as I write this post. So tonight I am thankful for my parent's kind hearts that have helped to fatten up the local wildlife so that they can hopefully stay a little warmer. I hope all of you are safe and warm as well!
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