Bugging You From San Juan Island

A doe a deer...a fe-male deer! Meet Twinkle!

When we moved this past spring, my daughter absolutely forbade me to feed the wildlife.  Somehow or another, they always find me…in Dallas it was Suzy the Squirrel!  Izzy the Rabbit…well, she lives IN the house with me!  At our last house, it was “Momma” raccoon.  She had cataracts and could barely see.  Unfortunately, she had friends who showed up to dine with her.  At first there were only 7.  We jokingly called them the “seven dwarves.”  Then, after the number climbed past 10 to 13, well….that’s when the “no-feeding the wildlife” rule came about!

So new house…no wildlife!  Got it??? Wrong!  Last week, I kid you not, the deer walked right up to me.  I know enough about wildlife that it’s best to just stay still.  They are skittish and don’t like sudden movements.  Having a wild rabbit (that really isn’t wild anymore) live with me has taught me much about how wild things like to get acquainted.  So, I just stood there and didn’t move while she sniffed me a bit.  She decided to lick my hand.  I gave her head a good scratch.  That was all it took for us to become “friends.”

My daughter, Amanda says it is my voice.  She calls me “Snow White.”  Sometimes she calls me “Dr. Doolittle.”  The deer got a name too…Twinkle!  I guess she’s decided she likes me.  I have carrots….and alfalfa pellets to hand out as treats.  Twinkle gets a good head scratch and I get a “petting” zoo in my front yard.

So the “don’t feed the wildlife” rule?  I guess it’s been bent a little.