Lughnasa Recovery Moon
As in Andover, we share our property and neighborhood with many other critters. Elk and mule deer come regularly to eat the clover in our front or strip bark from the aspens. A fat old fox waddles down the road now and then. Last night coming back from Evergreen on Black Mountain Drive a mule deer doe standing right on the shoulder of the road watched us as we slowly passed her. All of us enjoyed watching her watching us.
On Sunday Kate and I drive into Evergreen to the Lakeshore Cafe for our weekly business meeting. This last Sunday, going down Black Mountain Drive toward Evergreen, two foxes, healthy with beautiful coats, were in the middle of the road, one red and one black with just a nip of silver on its tail. As we approached, they startled and each headed for opposite sides of the road.
In looking for a picture of the black fox I learned they are called silver foxes and are a regular, but uncommon melanin variation of the red fox. They were the most prized of fox fur and according to Wiki were once considered worth forty beaver skins by natives of New England. Seeing the two together, both with fine coats, was a treat and a surprise.
We know there are bears, too, since our Shadow Mountain neighbors have been talking about them opening car doors in search of food, but we’ve not seen any. That’s just as well since any sort of habituation is dangerous for the bears. That’s why we keep our garbage in the garage and take it only an hour or so before pick up.
Where there are deer, the saying goes here, there are mountain lions. Maybe so, but again, we’ve seen nary a one. Of course, they’re very elusive, like bobcats and lynx, so they could be close by and we’d never know.
I do hear coyote yipping at night around 9 pm, but I’ve never seen one of them either.
