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   I have come to the conclusion that wildlife on our place considers my wife and me nothing more than intruders on their property. We are useful for some things but mostly get in the way of their daily lives. This is especially true of the deer.

   One female deer has decided the timber nearest the house belongs to her and her alone. Billie, the poodle, has an electronic collar that will not allow him to go that far. She will come almost to where he can go and stand to watch and annoy him. He can go only so far in his attempt to chase her off, but she will not be chased. Jag, the old man terrier, does not bother with deer. In his old age, he has figured out he cannot catch them and would not know what to do with one if he did. He would rather lay in the shade and let the deer come and go at will.

   Rabbits and squirrels also have no respect for our property rights. They will come into the yard and eat anything available. It is not for a shortage of food on the nearby several hundred acres they feel it necessary to eat the flowers and vegetables near the house. The dogs are better at chasing them with only minimal success. Occasionally, Billie is fast enough to catch a rabbit in the yard, but here again, he is limited in range on how far he can chase.

   Our son, Damon, has two rabbit dogs in training. The beagles enjoy nothing more than to get out and chase rabbits. Sunday, he brought them over to our house since we have plenty of rabbits to chase and we can watch them work from the comfort of our chairs on the front porch. Damon let them out on his way down the driveway and joined my wife and me for coffee. It did not take long before the two beagles were baying, hot on the trail of a rabbit. A minute later, a half-grown rabbit ran across the driveway into the timber where the doe deer lives. The dogs soon followed, noses to the ground. Their tails were whipping back and forth as they barked in hot pursuit. I have never seen a beagle catch a live rabbit, but we could tell, these two were convinced they would be the first. Suddenly the dogs bark changed, and the female came running to the house. We heard a yelp from the other dog, and he also headed for the house as fast as his short legs would carry him with a deer right behind him.

   Damon jumped up and went bounding off the porch. The doe was rapidly closing the distance on the beagle when she saw Damon coming toward her. She stopped short, stomped her foot, turned, and walked back into the timber. She stood just inside the tree line, keeping track of us and the dogs. After the close encounter with the doe, the beagles were hesitant to go back out and look for rabbits.

   I can understand her feelings of possessiveness since she probably has a fawn hidden in the timber, but I also feel I should have at least limited use of the property since I do pay the bills. By the first weekend of December, her fawn will be weaned and on its own. Since she cannot share, she might be the first deer of the season to go into my freezer. There must be some privileges to being the caretaker of the land.

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