Conspiracy Theory, or Collaborative Effort?

You decide....

Ha! I say both! They look like "Oh no...busted!"

That's a good shot, Rob!

The other day, my neighbor told me there was a very large deer in his yard.. Yesterday, Dave told me he saw a doe with a new fawn. Meanwhile I found two turkey eggs... just laid willy-nilly.. I believe they're from the lone female who didn't find a mate... so fortunately, not fertilized. The turkeys have been hanging 'round the neighborhood, which gives me cause for concern. Used to be they were just passing through...

Ha ha. Looks like a meeting to me. Maybe all of the participants have yet to arrive. The "individual" on right does look "surprised" to me; so you may have a point.

Looks like collaboration to me; they are deciding what each will attack in the yard.

Looks like thanksgiving dinner to me!

When I first went down to that bed there were a few more turkeys and 2 other deer. There was also a squirrel eating a walnut pretty close by too. I was like what the phlox? It seriously looked like an animal get together. So I went back up to the house and grabbed the camera. I spooked most of the animals when I walked away from the area. When I went back down, I hid behind a large silver agave cactus to take the photo. I could only take one shot before they ran off.

A couple of days ago, I had a pair of juvenile bobcats hanging around that same area.


I walked closer to get a photo and spooked him/her.
His/her sibling was close behind with a ground squirrel burrito.
The two of them together on the other side of the fence.

I grabbed some binoculars I have in the barn and watched them for awhile. They were amazing to watch and I wish I had a better camera with a zoom lens. Instead I have simple point and shoot digital camera. (Same goes for the earlier animal gathering photo).

Oh my word! Bobcats! It looks like an episode of Wild Kingdom! I would be afraid to take a walk in your neck of the woods!

Do the bob cats bother your domestic cats?

Do deer ear iris??? I was told that they do not.

It depends how experienced your deer are. irises don't taste good especially the leaves.

Cindy, in the Spring of last year, the deer and rabbits ate my irises to the ground. With our drought there was nothing to eat in the hills, so the critters were eating anything and everything. During the months after Spring, I only experienced an occasional nibble here and there. The critters had moved on to everything else in the garden.

Tom, I worry about that every day.

Domestic cats give Bob Cats a wide berth here. They are more afraid of them than they are of dogs. Bob Cats do not seek domestic cats out and usually warn them away. It does not take a second warning. I have lost two juvenile cats this spring to hawks. I know it is nature and I live in the hills but I still hate that. One feral adult male cat was killed and carried off by a coyote. I heard him scream and looked over into the ravine and saw the coyote running off with the limp cat while being pursued by two other coyotes. At least he died quickly.

Oh how sad...

Good to know they won't eat the iris unless it is a last resort. Thanks.

We have coyotes here that get our feral cats and we are in the suburbs.