The Outdoors:It never seems to fail
By Bees O’Brien
FARWELL- How often do hunters pull into their driveways after a long day in the woods, only to find deer standing safely in their own yards? It’s after legal shooting hours and it never seems to fail.
Ever since we moved to Farwell in 2020, I’ve seen so many deer during deer season here. They’re safely tucked in between flower beds, side yards and in our case safely grazing under apple trees. I wonder if these deer have a sixth sense about them and just know when the orange army hits the PA Wilds?
From summer up until now the deer sightings in our yard have not existed, but lately sightings and deer signs are abundant. These deer will stay close to human development over the winter months when food is plenty. They’ll hit bird feeders and deer feeding stations all winter long and usually don’t venture far from the safety of yards.
When spring rolls around, most deer remain and the doe give birth to their young throughout these neighborhoods and again it’s as if they know it is safe. Predator numbers are usually low, despite a small recent rise in coyote sightings here in Farwell and elsewhere.
Around June the deer seem to disappear. It’s almost like somebody turned off the magical deer switch. About Halloween the switch gets turned back on and the cycle repeats itself.
The magical switch works for other wildlife too. The squirrels always seem to become few and far between, but once November arrives the gray army arrives in masses once again. There is no safe bird feeder in Farwell.
Cardinals and other backyard songbirds also return to take up their seasonal residence and it is a beautiful thing to witness. Waterfowl also occupy the river more frequently, prior to moving south.
We also see our local beaver show himself more and mink and muskrat tracks begin to show up more. It never fails.
Wildlife know where to go and when it’s safe to be certain places, but how? It’s more than likely instincts and skills passed down through many generations. They find these save havens which allow them to survive harsh Pennsylvania winters.
And it never seems to fail, remember that come next week when you return from a hard day afieald and there’s a trophy buck standing in front of you gleaming holiday lights. Don’t worry, I’ve been there before myself!
