Serendipity

We frequently drive through the ranch pasture and woodland on our John Deere Gator to check for things that need attention or repair. The best time is either early, just after sunrise, or late, just before sunset. It is then that wild animals begin moving around. We can count on seeing deer—bucks or a “bambi” are special to spot. Even better are a group of spotted fawns frolicking by a pond. Tall ears in the grass materialize into a big Jack Rabbit that darts and zig-zags as he gets out of the way. Their size always seems to be larger when they pop up out of the grass. Then occasionally, we will see a group of wild turkeys coming out to forage, walking along in a dignified gait. Even less frequent, there will be a raccoon scurrying along, or a gray fox going lickety-split in the distance, or an armadillo cautiously coming out. Lastly, we once spotted a pair of black and white skunks moving along the trail just ahead of us! We stopped until they turned off the trail. Then waited just to be sure they were a safe distance away before we continued. We have yet to spot a black panther, who comes through our area making his 50 mile rounds, but that is probably a good thing.