When you live in Rutland City with houses very close to one another you don’t expect to see animals and critters that are prevalent in rural areas.
But that hasn’t stopped these “visitors” from checking out our urban setting.
Back in the ‘50s when I was a small child I remember playing in the sandbox when my mother scooped me up and hustled me into the house. No doubt I wondered what that was all about!
She brought me onto the back porch that overlooked our yard. There were three cows out there that had apparently wandered over from the upper Stratton Road area. I guess she thought I would be trampled!
Cows have not returned to our area since the ‘50s but deer have left the forest and tried “city living” on several occasions.
Back in 2015 a doe and her two fawns took up residence in the back yard of my late relative, Loyola McDonough. Her property on Taft Avenue abuts our back yard so I got to see them. They stayed there for a couple of weeks. Nobody passing by would know they were there so they had peace and quiet during their stay. The people who mowed her lawn were told not to mow out back for two weeks. She hoped they would be gone by then. Loyola enjoyed sitting out on her deck to watch them. The doe must have known she had a “time limit” because she adhered to Loyola’s two week deadline. All three deer were seen by a friend at the intersection of Stratton Road and Killington Avenue. They headed up Killington Avenue and were probably on their way back into the Mendon forest for the winter.
We had one deer in our yard on Howard Avenue last summer as well as this summer. Last year I spotted the doe as she ambled down our driveway and headed to the hosta plants in the back yard. I had noticed that they were being eaten several days before I actually saw the “culprit”. Apparently hostas were the preferred plant in my flower garden. But the deer didn’t like all the varieties that I had to offer. She ate the variety I like the least, which was appreciated! The deer that was in our yard this summer apparently likes tomato plants as she chewed off the tops of two of them before I spotted her in the yard.
Not all our “visitors” are cute and gentle. We had a bear on our street a few years ago. All the neighbors remained in their houses until it was seen leaving our street.
Every summer we see both gray and red foxes slithering through our yards. Hopefully, that won’t happen while I am sitting outside reading. If it does my scream will penetrate the neighborhood!
Groundhogs claim “city residency” in the summer as veggie gardens offer plenty of delicious options. Fencing may keep out some predators but groundhogs dig under fences and have a feast. A “Havahart live” trap has been tried at two of the homes but kale and broccoli were in short supply by the time that option was used.
The biggest surprise “visitor” came to our street a few years ago. My husband, Peter, told me to look out our living room window. A large turkey was strutting down the street. I had never seen one of those go by the house before.
The cutest visitors are the bunnies! They have their babies in places that can surprise you when walking in the yard or working in the garden. I tripped in a hole that was in our side yard and soon discovered that it was a bunny nest. I read that choosing such a location is not unusual as predators are not apt to venture into open spaces. One other year I found a bunny nest in my flower garden.
Last summer I saw only one bunny but my neighbor, Allison, told me that she had seen two together in their yard. You know how that situation plays out. They multiply! Bunnies also make it necessary to grow lettuce and carrots in raised boxes. I came up with that solution after I saw one bunny working its way along my row of lettuce like it was a salad bar. The tops of my carrots were also a victim of bunny nibbling. My veggie boxes are 3 feet off the ground and covered with chicken wire. No bunnies or squirrels are going to eat what is intended for my husband and me. Problem solved!
So although Rutland is a city we do have “country” visitors. Our welcome mat will not be out for bears, foxes or groundhogs but the rest of them are pretty cute and fun to watch.
