As fall saunters on, the region's deer got revved up for rut - their mating season. Area hunters have spent hundreds, even thousands on equipment to help bag "the big one." Meanwhile, area drivers hit the brakes and sometimes hit the deer.
Sadly, I was in the latter category earlier this month. There was a herd of doe on both sides of the road. I slowed down and braked hard, but the inevitable happened. Luckily, I had decreased my speed enough, that my car was still drivable. I believed the doe escaped bruised, but alive.
However, I wasn't alone. In the same week, at least two Facebook friends had the same or worse experience than I did. Judging by the many deceased deer along the roadsides I traveled, it just seemed as though this year the deer were everywhere. While the region was overrun with deer, there appeared to be a rental car shortage. In fact, when I went to get a rental car, they were few and far between. The deficit was no doubt due to the rise in deer-damaged vehicles needing repairs.
Nothing appeared to show the increased presence of deer more than the trail cameras. The apple tree in the backyard was favorite haunt. The traffic was so high that parts of the yard were transformed from grass to mud.
My parents' front yard was a busy place as well. Their oak tree, like others in the area, had a massive crop of acorns. The acorn clean-up crew appeared pretty much daily and sometimes nightly.
Included in the neighborhood herd were this year's fawns. It was hard to believe that they still had their spots at the beginning of September. Now they sported the darker grey coats of winter.
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There were some bucks still wearing velvet in mid-September.
However, by October the boney antlers poked through.
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As October rolled on, the cameras in the backyard showed the does under the apple tree were not alone. Several bucks, both large and small, were pictured stalking the girls. There were also several blurry pictures of the bucks literally chasing the does around the tree. Most of this activity happened in the dark.
While normally, my white-knuckle driving was saved for winter weather, this year I have gripped the steering wheel to try to avoid the storm of deer hitting the highways.
When driving a rental car, the driver of the truck in front of me was flashing their lights abnormally.
There on the four lanes by the Sheetz in Reno was a very large buck in the middle lane waiting for traffic to clear. Additionally, the day I received my SUV back from the repair shop I had another close call. I saw a small spike buck in the area where I had the first accident. This time I slowed to a stop and, sure enough, he ran across the road in front of me.
When driving a rental car, the driver of the truck in front of me was flashing their lights abnormally.
There on the four lanes by the Sheetz in Reno was a very large buck in the middle lane waiting for traffic to clear. Additionally, the day I received my SUV back from the repair shop I had another close call. I saw a small spike buck in the area where I had the first accident. This time I slowed to a stop and, sure enough, he ran across the road in front of me.
As the bucks chase the does and the hunters chase the deer, their movements will undoubtedly increase. Unfortunately, some will cross paths with area motorists and things won't end well. That's just the nature of things 'round here.
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