Granny’s sanctuary
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First I want to thank all of you who gave me your support while I hosted my very first Daily Bucket. (which is also my first post on the site). It means so much to me! I could write you a long thank you love letter, but I think you’ll appreciate some Buckets more than a bunch of text.
I live in rural VA. Even though I was born here, I didn’t live here my whole life. My dad joined the Army shortly after I was born. We had to move about every 3 ½ years, so I’ve lived in Germany (too young to remember), Belgium, MD, GA, NJ, and TX (twice). My parents grew up here and at the time of my Dad’s retirement, we still had family here. Unfortunately Granny is no longer with us and my other set of grandparents move to KY.
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Granny’s house has always been my most favorite place in the world. I kind of think of it as a sanctuary, which doesn’t apply to just this human. She always had visitors and shared pictures with us. I was always jealous, since I’ve always loved animals. I never saw much when I was there.
The town I live in has a very small population of just over 3,500 according to a Google search, which includes the United States Census Bureau as a source. Granny’s house is closer to the outskirts or border of town. Her house is on a hill and secluded. So, a lot of wildlife visits her place.
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My uncle now owns the house. Most of the time he’s at his house in Kansas City, MO, but he comes in town sometimes. He’s recently told me about “deer with spotted fawns” playing in the garden (which reminds me of Granny’s delicious green beans). He said he, “saw a baby just born by the front steps.” It’s mother was nearby and “came thundering from the back of the house to protect it.” My uncle wouldn’t harm it, this is their sanctuary more so than my own.
He also said, “there used to be a family of white skunks in the garden with very little black on them.” The list of animals he told me he’s seen includes, “foxes, opossums, racoons, rabbits, squirrels, ground hogs, Blue Jays, English sparrows, wrens, owls, black birds, grackle, Morning doves, quail, grouse, humming birds, gold finches, a Baltimore oriole, and other wildlife. Much more wildlife than ever before.” He also told me that, “Blue Jays are noisy and aggressive. [Granny] saw one kill a cardinal.” Also, “there are a couple of large birds that fly over with awesome wing spans.”
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Now you see how Granny’s can be my patch and I can deliver bountiful Buckets to you! I expect to create more of them regularly. It’s a project I’m working on, so please be patient. I’ve received some pictures by request (such as all of these) and I’m so excited to share them with you. I hope you enjoy this! Thanks for being here!
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White-tailed deer
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Here in rural VA, we see lots of White-tailed deer (looking at the species name makes that obvious, but I just learned it for you). It’s because of them that the local human population loves to put camouflage on everything including all their clothes, trucks, and whatever else imaginable. Sounds of gun shot from the local forests aren’t unusual during hunting season.
People say hunting helps keep the population in check, but I notice no one’s hunting humans (except for COVID). Curious. In order for hunters to make sure they don’t get shot by another hunter, they wear very bright orange hats and vests. With human eyes, this looks silly, especially since it completely negates the camouflage. But, I’m a nature lover, what do I know?
Deer are a traffic problem as many are struck by vehicles all the time (bears and others get hit, too). Is this because their population is too large or because they’re being shot at causing them to flee towards traffic? It seems cyclical.
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Local thunderstorm
About 11PM EST (6/16/22), I recorded a beautiful thunderstorm with my cell phone. Unfortunately the quality doesn’t quite capture the beauty I saw with my eyes, but it’s a taste. This was a spontaneous observation. I backed up about as far as I could to capture as much of the sky as I could.