May/June update

A word about the “fake prairie life".  There are blogs about "prairie life" that include dressing up fancy and pushing products on the net.  THAT IS NOT PRAIRIE LIFE.  That’s downtown Denver life.  Believing this fantasy land can lead people to think moving to the prairie is romantic.  Suddenly, the kid is bitten by a rattlesnake, the dog attacked and killed by an eagle, and the home flooded in a hail storm and electricity is out for two weeks.  Assuming one is still there when winter hits, it's 10 feet of snow and 60 mph winds.  The lie of the prairie romance is exposed.   I find all of this type of “make-believe” harmful to the world, creating a false story that people fall for and can end up dead from.  I realize that fiction is the new “reality”, but I have to mention that reality still exists even if you think you can ignore it.

Speaking of rattlesnakes, I came out of my garage and found this on laying along the path to the house.  I fetched the snake hook, a cooler and the snake is now in the taped shut cooler in the shade to be released after my hubby comes home.  We usually look for an open place to release these, though the wiping out of ranches means there are fewer and fewer places the snake can actually live.  (For those of you who hate rattlesnakes, all I can say is "haunta virus".  You kill the predators that keep the vermin in check, you get more vermin.)

A couple of days later while mowing I went over the top of a baby rattlesnake, about the size of a pencil.  I couldn't catch him and he slithered out of the yard.  About 4 days later we found him again out in the windbreak.  Again, couldn't catch him.  So now I do yard work with leather gloves on!

Speaking of vermin, I now live between two rural ghetto junkyards:

These are vermin haven.  The bunnies like it too, but I worry that the number of mice breeding is huge.  The county doesn't care in the least.  You can have 100 dead cars and other junk and nothing is done.  Now, for the lowlifes who want to live in garbage, that's great.  However, I caution you if you want to move to Wyoming that you may be living next to garbage dumps.  

There is an up side to this.  I was going to paint my house all one color and make it look nice.  However, since I live between garbage heaps, I'm sticking with the calico motif and painting the walls, trim and skirting whatever colors I have.  Actually, I kind of like the quirky look and since my neighbors have made it clear that there is no reason to care what your lot and house look like, I plan on going with the idea.  Plus, adding some colorful "garden tool statues" (really recycled tools welded together and called "art"), probably a few other cute artsy things in really hideous colors, etc.  It's quite freeing to live where there are zero standards. 

The good news is the really ugly, rotting trailers up the road (that we drive by daily) are being torn out.  I guess the owner finally sold them and maybe the new owner will actually care about having a decent subdivision.  Maybe….. These are the remaining blights, and the demolition of other trailers.

This one is torn down now

Now, just some pictures.

Kingbird

Pincushion cactus blooming

Prickly pear cactus about to bloom—looks like a face!

Locust tree in bloom

Iris in bloom

The definition of STUPID

Once again there are "cute" pictures of people living with deer, being licked by them, petting them and allowing the deer into their homes.  We have a term for these people:  Idiots.

First, even Walt Disney had Bambi playing with other animals, not people, and Disney was the ultimate "warm and fuzzy brainless" guy out there.  People do not interact with Bambi, except where a hunter gets Bambi's mother.  People and Bambi were a bad mix.

Second, deer are WILD animals.  There are people injured and killed by "pet" deer.  Here are a couple of links:

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-12-01-deer-attacks_x.htm

http://bangordailynews.com/2011/10/13/outdoors/new-brunswick-man-dies-after-deer-attack/

Individuals who allow deer into their homes and up close in their yards lack any sense whatsoever.  The deer can seriously injure children and sometimes adults.  Deer have ticks that cause lyme disease.  Perhaps that's okay?  Lyme disease is just part of beautiful nature and your three year old hospitalized for lyme disease is no big deal, right?  It's far more important to foster emotional stupidity in your child than responsible, rational thought.  And in the end, having the deer in your yard and taking pictures, posting on youtube, sending emails are far more important than the health and welfare of your kid.  Kids outgrow cute, deer do not.

I post pictures of deer on my blog, yes.  I want to make it very clear I do NOT name the deer, pet the deer, let the deer in my house or any other emotionally gratifiying yet so stupid actions.  The deer are in my yard because I have tall sagebrush and trees, plus a small "pond".  The habitat is favorable.  I do not feed the deer.  I chase them away from my trees if I see them eating (I may take a photo first, then yell.) The deer laying against my house will jump up and run if I open the window, just like a wild animal is supposed to.  They are NOT pets.  

One year during hunting season I actually carried a gun everywhere in my yard because some of the deer had become aggressive.  One doe in particular would stomp the ground and snort at me.  I actually was afraid she would attack when I came around a blind corner of the house or garage.  

Message here:

Deer are NOT pets.  Only very stupid people make them into pets.  If you are one of the stupid people and the deer injure your children or you or give you a disease, check the mirror.  YOU injured your child or made them sick, YOU injured yourself or made yourself sick.  Hopefully it was worth the internet fame.  It certainly proves how little people care about wildlife and their own families.

This picture is take with a telephoto lens from my bedroom window.  Cropping makes the deer look closer.  This is as it should be.  

I have written about this in the past, and the damage the deer do to one's yard.  People who have deer licking their faces and checking out the barbecue have deer feces all over their yard.  Talk about an invitation to disease.  It is difficult to fathom the romance in a yard full of feces, wildlife in one's home and inviting injury and disease to fall upon one's family.