Wednesday, June 19, 2019

Relaxing in Ramsey Canyon, Part One: Doe, a Deer...


Denis and I recently spent five days in a cabin at the edge of the Ramsey Canyon Preserve about ten miles south of Sierra Vista, Arizona. (The preserve calls itself the Hummingbird Capital of the U.S.) The cabin was very basic, but that didn't matter because it had what I privately thought of as a million-dollar deck.

In the sky islands of the Huachuca Mountains (wah-CHOO- kuh), the cabin and deck were nestled in the shade of scrub oaks and Ponderosa pine. I spent hours on that deck. I had a book with me, but it stayed on the table while I did my best to wear out my two cameras. There was just too much wildlife to watch. With the preserve right at my doorstep, I could've taken advantage of all sorts of hiking trails or visited the Arizona Folklore Preserve which we had to drive past to get to the cabin. But that deck was my siren song. I couldn't get away from it, and since our primary reason for being there was to relax, I didn't feel bad about it one little bit.

Five days of peace and quiet. Five days of not seeing another soul. Five days of hearing nothing but wildlife and the wind through the trees. I'm not kidding you. It was won-der-fullll!

I'm going to turn our five-day trip into several posts. This way, I can share more photos and relive memories. The owner has the entire property for sale, so I'm hoping that we are able to go back sometime in the future-- especially in mid-August when it's the height of the hummingbird season and when the creek that is within sight of the cabin is running. (We were there during the only time in the year when it doesn't run. Ah well.)

For this first batch of photos, I wouldn't be at all surprised if you start humming "Doe, a deer, a female deer..."


My view when I looked up while sitting on the deck. Twenty degrees cooler here than in Phoenix!


We weren't on the deck any time at all when the Welcome Wagon showed up and wanted to know what's for supper. These are mule deer.


In case you didn't know, deer LOVE apples. As you can see, we already knew this!


What a beautiful face! (And she also knew that Denis was in charge of the apples that day...)


Since the creek wasn't running, Denis made sure to keep all the water receptacles filled. Birdbaths aren't just for birds. 


You can tell by the little knobs on his head that this is a young male. Young male deer certainly don't get much respect from the females-- at least not that we observed. Must have something to do with how males behave once they're grown!


Sunday afternoon, a dozen deer felt comfortable enough around us to lie down and take naps.


I think she wants another apple!


Off in the trees.


Yum!


I hope you're enjoying your visit to Ramsey Canyon. It will continue next week!



10 comments:

  1. Oh, you got such stunning 'photos, Cathy! Wow!! And the place looks gorgeous - lovely and peaceful. Little wonder you enjoyed watching it from the deck. I can't wait to see your other 'photos. Sometimes I think 'unplugging' from the world is a great idea.

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  2. What a beautiful place and so restful. To get away and not see anyone else and just enjoy nature, now that is a vacation.

    And those lovely deer -- just gorgeous. I actually teared up looking at them.

    As long as you have apples for them and leave out water, they will be around. (I hope there is water on days you aren't there to leave it out for them.)

    Can't wait for the rest of the photos. And I'm wondering if you actually got any reading done or if you were just communing with nature.

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    1. The only reading I got done was at night when I went to bed. Even then I didn't read as much as when I'm at home because I could look up through the window at millions of stars shining through the trees. No light pollution there!

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  3. What a fun trip for you two! I'll enjoy seeing your pictures. Lots of deer there for sure. We get deer in our yard here every single day.

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    1. In a way, I'm glad that we don't have lots of wildlife on our property (other than the birds). I'd never get anything done!

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  4. Maybe you two are "deer whisperers."

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    1. Nah. I just think I'm related to Elly Mae Clampett. ;-)

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  5. i look at those sweet faces and wonder how anyone could hunt.

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    1. If someone is hungry enough, they'll probably give it a try.

      You know I love animals, but my paternal and maternal grandparents came from poor farming backgrounds, and the meat that hunting provided was an important supplement to their diet.

      Something none of the hunters in my family would ever think of condoning is wanton slaughter just for the sake of killing, just for the sake of a trophy on a wall. That. Is. Wrong.

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