Tag Archives: mule deer

Mulies All Around

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If it wasn’t for Amazon, I wouldn’t have seen the Mulies in our front yard. Mulies is a nickname for Mule Deer, which are the most common species of deer in Arizona.

I was walking by our front windows, when I spotted a package outside our front gate. I opened the front door and walked outside. That’s when I saw three mule deer. I went back inside to grab my camera. But I had the wrong lens, my macro lens, on the camera body. I watched as the deer left the front yard and meandered along the side of our house, outside the fence. They reached the backyard, and were munching away on jojoba. I realized they were content and not going anywhere, so I had time to change lenses.

They were also snacking on Palo Verde trees, which are in full bloom now with yellow flowers.

At first, I didn’t get any good shots of the Mulies, because of brush and bushes blocking my view. I watched as seven deer crossed our backyard behind our fence to the side yard. That’s when I started taking more photos.

Eventually they made it to the front yard and were walking across our driveway.

One Mulie thought the Bottlebrush bush looked tasty.

The deer didn’t do too much damage to the Bottlebrush.

Here are several deer in our front yard.

Eventually they all crossed the street to continue their neighborhood stroll. I watched as they disappeared in the brush.

Do you have a favorite Mule Deer photo?

What are your weekend plans?

Trouble in Paradise

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I watched a coyote scurry on the outside of our fence. I got one photo of his face, but he was moving fast and it’s blurry. This was the only one in focus. We also saw three coyotes on a morning walk this week, darting between houses. FYI, my story has nothing to do with coyotes.

My husband and I walked down our driveway to start our morning walk. I noticed the recycling bin on our curb had a pink note attached to it. Two neighbors walked by at that moment.

“We’re in trouble now!” I said.

“What?” they stopped and asked.

“We got a pink slip from the garbage police.”

I quickly read through the pink slip and discovered we were getting our first warning for not having the lid down all the way. We had a box that stuck up above the lid line. After three warnings, they said they’d stop our service!

“I didn’t know they looked at our trash,” the neighbor said.

While we were walking through the neighborhood, I noticed a handful of pink slips on recycling bins. We weren’t the only violators.

We walked by another neighbor who was walking her chihuahua Duke. I said, “It looks like a lot of neighbors are getting written up by the recycling cops.”

“Don’t get me started,” she said. “I’ve been written up twice. Then the supervisor of the garbage company knocked on my front door!”

We stood there incredulous.

The supervisor told her that our city is the worst in the state for garbage violations. He also said she had broken a number of rules, including not separating her newspapers and putting them in a plastic bag, as well as not breaking down cardboard boxes enough. I’ve never before heard about newspapers needing to be separated from other recycling.

“We especially have our eye on you!” he said as he left.

Other troubles in Paradise? I’ll save the stories for another day. Thankfully, nothing major at all. Life is good.

The last of three coyotes we saw run between neighbors’ homes. The neighbor who lives here said he saw a pack of seven run by this week. Earlier in the week he saw three Mule Deer.

What do your recycling rules entail? Happy Friday! What are your weekend plans?

Mulies Munching

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My wild kingdom life continues. Two mule deers munched on jojoba plants in our backyard outside our fence last week for a few hours. There wasn’t much left of one jojoba when they were done.

I was fascinated and managed to stand a few yards away — on my side of the fence. At one point the buck jumped and it looked like he’d run away. But instead, he froze and the pair didn’t seem to think I was a threat. The buck had small antlers that were narrow. You can barely make them out in the photos.

I took the photo above with my Nikon. I had trouble with the camera, because the mulies would be partially behind shrubs and the with camera on auto, focused on the plant life, leaving the mule deers blurry. This was the only decent photo I got.

Here are a few more photos and a video from my iphone:

Here are the mulies munching on jojoba. There’s a good view of the buck’s antlers.

I sat myself down on a bench opposite the deer and watched feeling the peace of nature. What a blessing during Advent to experience this beauty.

The Gift of Christmas
Poet: Catherine Pulsifer

Family and friends gathered near,
Laughter and love so warm, sincere.
May the joy of Christmas Day,
Guide your heart in every way.

Remember those who face the cold,
Whose stories often go untold.
Extend a hand, share what you can,
For love unites the hearts of man.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

It’s wild out there

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A skinny bobcat on our patio.

Yesterday on our walk, we saw a huge coyote walking down the wash. He stopped and we stared at each other for a minute. Then he sauntered away. He was too far away for a close photo, thank goodness!

I also captured a bobcat on my outside camera. This guy paid us a visit at 4:30 a.m. and stopped by last week around 10 p.m. one night. (Video below).

I found my favorite photos of wildlife to share:

Javelina on the sidewalk enjoying prickly pears.

Mule deer in the side yard.

Coyote on the wall behind our house on a snowy day.

Outside our bedroom sliding glass door. This bobcat climbed a tree, ate some birds and then napped in this spot.

Below is the Bobcat Video:

The bobcat walks by at about 6 seconds. After he disappears behind the tree, you can stop watching. Sorry, I don’t know how to edit the video from our Cox Camera.

I’m on the App Next Door, and a lot of people are posting wildlife photos. It must be another sign that Spring is in the air. What I don’t like is the rattlesnake photos. One I saw this morning was a rattler on a workbench inside a garage. Yikes!

I love all the wildlife we have around us. I enjoy watching the animals way more than worrying about the homeless guy who moved into our yard and said he bought our house in Palm Springs.

What wildlife do you enjoy where you live?

Views from the neighborhood

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One morning this past week was spectacular because of the sun and clouds. Here are a few views I enjoyed, plus a mule deer in a neighbor’s yard and quail in my backyard. Enjoy!

Have a great week. Are you cooking for Thanksgiving or visiting friends?

Our wild neighborhood

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We saw two mule deer on our morning walk.

Unfortunately our nest of quail eggs did not hatch. It makes me sad, because I was looking forward to our own hatchlings. We do have a couple families of quail visit our backyard. I also was thrilled to see deer yesterday morning.

I’m not sure what to do with the nest of eggs. I’m leaving it alone for the time being, but think I should throw them away?

I never get tired of the wildlife in our neighborhood. Across the street we have the McDowell Nature Preserve with more than 130 miles of hiking trails. That’s probably why we get deer, coyotes, javelina and bobcats waltzing through our backyards and streets. There’s so much building going on in Arizona, it’s reassuring to know the 30,580 acres of Sonoran Desert across the street will not be developed.

Here is one of the quail families that visit our yard. The babies look like teenagers.

Another deer in a neighbor’s yard.

Here’s a video of a mule deer walking across a neighbor’s driveway.

What is your favorite thing about your neighborhood?