Fall 2004 Newsletter

A N I M A L   S I G N S

When my husband and I first saw our land in the Anderson Valley here in Mendocino County it was late April of 1981. We were instantly smitten! This place would be the embodiment of our love affair with the wild things. On that glistening Spring day, as we crested the hill, we were greeted by the raucous cries and aerial acrobatics of a pair of mating Red Tail Hawks. A turn of the head, and not one hundred feet from us, a matched set of deer, mother and fawn, were silhouetted against the sky. Our romance with these creatures continues to this day. If I show someone a beautiful piece of property and some creature is posed there, I smile to myself. Invariably I'll be asked if I've brought the critters in from "central casting."

That first year, as we camped, we became familiar with the patterns and paw prints of the bear in the soft mud of our free-flowing spring. On several occasions, we passed by a solitary porcupine huddling against a tree root, shy and wishing we would continue on our way. The nocturnal visits of our masked companions, the raccoons, are still with us. Driving down the country roads at night it is still a thrill to see the outstretched brush of the fox as it slips easily through the grasses — always on the hunt.

We have friends from Texas who visit with us occasionally, and it is a joy to watch their reactions at the passing parade of wild turkeys, deer, quail; and a fascinating variety of birds, big and small, both predators and scavengers. For a while, we had a vixen visit us. She was very distinctive in that she had a lame rear leg. Aesop had it right. Foxes love grapes. We would leave some for her, and she would stuff her cheeks with them and rush back to her den, wherever that was. We were rewarded one evening when she paraded her kits down the drive for us. I know it's not good to feed these creatures, but an occasional treat: the deadfalls from the apple trees, the cuttings from the roses, are always welcomed.

    

I've learned to recognize some signs over the years. We can look forward to a big winter this year — the animals are "putting by." The woodpeckers may have killed the host tree, but some enterprising critter has turned the carcass into a nut bank, a granary tree or storage depot for the winter.

  

I get to travel the backroads frequently at dusk, and I have seen a mama pig with upwards of 20 babies, happily foraging through the oak leaf duff. If you drive through the Anderson Valley and see some ground turned over as if it has been rototilled — look again. It's very possible this is the work of wild pigs! They root in the ground — especially under oak trees — searching for acorns and grubs. The result can be quite destructive, but there is some benefit to the soil.

  

These delicate gossamer saucers are the handiwork of a spider. Other bugs, while searching for the captured moisture these silken hammocks hold, stumble into a captivity from which they cannot escape. They become dinner! (My neighbor, Gene Herr refers to these webs as "fairy trampolines"!)

This is also the time of the whale signs. Along the Mendocino Coast, the migration south to Scammon's Lagoon in Baja Mexico has begun. With a mediocre pair of binoculars, or even the naked eye, you can spot the pods as they blow. You can get lucky and see flukes from time to time. It is truly a thrill when you catch one spying. When you come to visit in this season, be sure to spend some time scanning the sea for this annual water ballet.

The madrone berries are heavy on the trees, the smallest creatures are making their earthbound dens cozy for the weather ahead, and the birds are practicing flocking maneuvers for the trip south. Even they seem reluctant to leave this beautiful country.

Gracie Joy Chacon, our 15 month old Maltese, sends Greetings for Thanksgiving and Fall.

Should you come this way looking for a home or land, I hope you'll think of me. If you don't see what you want on my website, ask me, and I'll do my best to find just the right property for you.

Cheers!
Gio

November 2004

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