It looks as if we are going to have a white Christmas after all. Though Colorado has received a ton of snow this winter it has all fallen on the western side of the Continental Divide- where the ski resorts are. Until today, it has been brown in the foothills of the Front Range.
A deer family came through this morning - two bucks, 4 does and 3 fawns. While the deer were in the yard, two coyotes came trotting by. I thought the deer would run but instead the does started chasing the coyotes who took off up the mountain.
A few winters back when snow was deep and had drifted into three and four foot high banks, it was a different story - the deer were afraid of the coyotes and ran to escape them. That same winter of deep snow, elk were so hungry that I carried a whip to chase 3 bulls with giant antlers away when I fed hay to the horses. A farm in a nearby town had a horse gored by a hungry bull elk who stole his hay.
Most winters, elk aren’t a problem because the snow usually melts in a day or two so they can find enough to eat but winters of deep snow that freezes into place for days at a time makes a problem for all wildlife- elk, deer, coyotes and song birds.
I stopped feeding wild birds this year because it attracted too many rodents. I like the chipmunks and squirrels but then pack rats discovered the free handout. It didn’t take long for a pack rat family to move into the garage where they made intricate nests decorated with my silver spoon collection and Christmas ornaments. I had to admire their industrious nature and decorating abilities and probably would have let them stay in the garage (which instead of housing a vehicle stores horse feed) but they pooped and chewed on everything. So I live-trapped the entire pack rat family of 4 and relocated them to a rocky paradise several miles away.
Christmas Day, I’m volunteering at a local restaurant/pub that is providing a free community feast. I’ve been very social the last week so I’m over my holiday blues.
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