 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Two Rutted Bucks and a Garden Hoseby George ZidbeckBack in the 20th Century, circa April 1978, my wife, Judy, and I purchased three Central Coast acres while we still lived and worked in L.A. County. For seven subsequent years, we periodically tooled north from Whittier and sprayed the fecund poison oak fence line to fence line. In December of 1985, we finally moved into our newly constructed, functionally comfortable, wood framed retirement cottage. From the dining room window, we casually overlooked the northeastern portion of our land - including a wide swath of real estate owned by two neighbors. More importantly, the view permitted observing a constant parade of terrestrial and aerial wild life. In addition to numerous bird species - from miniscule goldfinches to circling buzzards - and their mostly grounded, transplanted cousins, the wild turkeys, we observed countless deer, numerous squirrels, a few skunks and raccoons, plus foxes, two coyotes, one possum, and one bobcat. Regularly, deer dominated the animal landscape. We thus followed their browsing and maturation cycles. After the bucks had scraped the velvet from their antlers and had tested each other by "playful" jousting, serious challenging emerged whereby the strongest and most aggressive established mating rights. The coastal black tail deer seemingly do not conform to the harem syndrome more common to high altitude mule deer and elk. Such a distinction does not, however, derail the male deer's behavior while enflamed with testosterone. I had recently completed laying a water line to the garden site that required terracing and fencing. Come summer I expected to live off the fat of the land. Long before realizing any harvest, however, I enjoyed morning cups of java while sitting at the dining table overlooking the pastoral landscape. During one such sitting, I observed two bucks seriously clashing their antlers. These two were the Big Bad Boys of the neighborhood, and they meant business. Heads lowered, necks torqued, hooves stomping for balance and parrying, the two guys put on quite a show. I called my wife to sit with me and enjoy the performance. Not a minute later, I rushed out the front door and ran toward the animals. During their maneuverings, their antlers picked up the garden hose attached to the newly erected water bib close to the garden area. Initially, the animals continued their battle oblivious to the garden hose entwining them. Screaming and flailing my arms like a banshee, I got the deer's attention, and they broke off the engagement. (Yes, a local later informed me that I unwisely approached two jousting bucks in full rut.) By the time I reached the area, the two had separated, one buck heading upslope, the other down slope while trailing fifty feet of brand new hose. Fortunately, the water line remained intact, but the hose - recovered two hundred yards and five minutes later - had been savaged beyond repair. Well, it's a small price to pay for wildlife pageantry within the squiredom.
|
|---|
