November 5, 2014 (Wednesday)
As I drove to Sunday School last Sunday, southeast on FM 2165, the people in the car in front of me had a thrill when several deer ran across the road in front of them, then before the car could pass the spot, one came running back in the other direction, into the Rockport Country Club area. None was hit.
The one that came running back probably did so because he did not want to leave the flowers that grow so nicely at Country Club homes. A common complaint of home owners there is the loss of flowers to the deer. The flowers are like strawberry shortcake to them.
In the early 80’s Dwight and I took a ride in the O’Connor helicopter with our friend, Chuck Norman, as pilot. It was not a joy ride; it was a flyover to view possible sites for a new church building. We had had heavy rains, and it was a good time to see where the standing water had been. We wanted to make sure we chose a piece of land on high ground. Soon afterwards the church bought the land now occupied by the church buildings, built 20 years later.
We flew over the area now claimed by the Country Club golf course and residential area. Our flight took us over the area when it was still in its pristine natural state. Deer lived there. Other wildlife joined them in their own little paradise.
Later the Country Club was developed and the landscape changed. Now the deer continue to live there
and, just like they did for thousands of years before, they eat what they can find. So, among other items in the diet, they eat flowers. Problem is, the flowers are owned by humans. The deer don’t understand that, and they behave according to a “Grandfather clause” that allows them to eat freely anything they want. There’s also no way to regulate their trips across the roads.
The residents of the Country Club are frustrated. They might consider thinking of the devoured flowers as rent. After all, we have moved in and taken over the deers’ home. We should be glad we did not take over territory occupied by lions, tigers and bears, (oh my). *
It is amazing to me that so much wildlife can still be seen on this peninsula and on the Lamar peninsula. Development continues to spread and take over their habitat. Somehow many of them are surviving. At our own house here in Oak Terrace, we see hawks, owls, birds of all kinds, road runners, bats, opossums, raccoons, squirrels, skunks, coyotes, armadillos, alligators, turtles, not to mention reptiles of several descriptions, and probably many more that I can’t recall or don’t know about. I remember when the bulldozers came and carved out the four long streets and cleared the lots of this subdivision. Again I remind myself that the wild animals were here first, and this is still their home. We share it with them and they have no choice in the matter. We are the “squatters.”
*
Lions and Tigers and Bears — Oh, my!
