Desert Denizens

by Rain Trueax
 

There are many ways to live in the desert. You can be in a walled community, a condo, a mansion on a ridge, or in a small development on one of Tucson's many ridges. 

Such a ridge is where we found our dream, second home over twenty years ago. I wanted desert around the house and a feel of an adobe (though it's slump block). I wanted the denizens who live here to feel it was as it always had been for them to come through-- and it is.

By having an acre and a third, we have been able to leave the kind of vegetation seen in open desert. Some, who live in the Santa Cruz River valley bulldoze off the natural growth and build walls. I suspect some of that is fear of rattlesnakes-- not an unreasonable concern in the desert. I'd rather live with the rattlesnakes than have to keep out all the others. That snake below, swimming in the little desert pond that came with the property, is not a rattler. Most snakes here are not.


For their safety, we do keep a small fenced yard for our cats to be out when they wish but still protected from the predators (coyotes, javelina, raccoons, and bobcats are most prevalent), who might find plump cats a tasty meal. By law, we also have to fence the swimming pool but the cats don't get access to that either for their safety-- unless we are out there.

When we first bought this house, I had no idea that javelina could be predators as I thought
of them as more scavengers.  We adopted a desert cat when we first arrived. He had no owners and showed up needing food and care. Every time he saw the javelina through the glass doors, he'd growl. I thought that strange but knew they could rip up a person's leg. Once a herd of them killed our neighbor's dog, I better understood our cat's reaction. He'd often be on our roof-- definitely a safe place for a fluffy black cat as no hawk nearby could threaten him based on his size.

My love of the desert has found its way into many of my books from historical to paranormal. I have always regarded nature as a character in my stories. This is especially true where it come to the Sonoran Desert. By living with those who also live here, I don't write them as Bambis but  let them be what they are-- part of nature and life for those who watch (well, except for those who can talk in the paranormals).

Those denizens who never leave here, who come through or call this place home, they know this land better than I ever will. they do not claim it because it's not what they do. They just own it by nature. They are born here and likely will die here. They know where the food is and for what to watch out. Once in a while, I am fortunate enough to cross their paths.

When we spend time watching, we get to see baby birds, like these quail, grow up. 

All the photos were taken on our desert home, which we call Casa Espiritu. The black and white one was taken with the wildlife cam as javelina are jittery around humans during daylight. They can be legally hunted in Arizona, and I am told they are good to eat, but I would not know. 

This will be my last post at Sweethearts. Currently, my writing has gone to contemporary and paranormal, which means I am not doing enough historic research to feel a good fit here. Love the group and will definitely keep reading it regularly. :)

LIONS AND TIGERS AND BEARS, OH MY! WESTERN ANIMALS

Chaparral, or Roadrunner
not a cartoon character

Lions and tigers and bears, oh, my! Animals often appear to menace our characters or at least to give color to our novels. As readers and writers, we want the animals in the novels we read to be realistic.
When we write or read about the Southwest, our characters often encounter annoying critters on four legs as well as those on two legs. I wanted to post some of these because I've had people from other areas ask what a parricular thing was--a chaparral, for instance. When I explained they were commonly called a roadrunner, she said, "Oh, I thought that was only in cartoons. You mean there really is a roadrunner?" Yes, there is, and in fact one lives in our orchard. Others doubt that a particular animal, the Mexican black panther, for example, actually makes it as far north as North Texas.  As an eyewitness, they do!

Wily Coyote, also real

Another creature we hear far more often than we see them is the coyote. As so-called civilization encroaches, coyotes become more aggressive. You may remember reading about a young Canadian author who was attacked and killed by a pack of coyotes while she was on a hike not that far from her home. In the area of North Central Texas in which I live, we've only seen lone coyotes. Usually sightings are early morning, but we hear them from their dens under the train track a half-mile and further away.

Glen Rose (Texas) Gray Wolf

Along the same avenue is the repopulation of wolves in Texas, as we learned from Jeanmarie's post. The Texas Gray Wolf became extinct in the 1960's, but wolves are now being reintroduced in natural areas. Ranchers are not happy about this, and I can understand their anger. On the other hand, I hate to see any species go extinct. But then, I'm one of those weird tree-huggers--NOT the militant type, just privately. And I wouldn't mind if things like fire ants and poisonous snakes and mosquitoes were extinct. Not a bit!


Javelina--does "Ugly" come to mind?


We have all heard of javelinas, especially if you're from Arkansas where the Razorback is the mascot of one of the universities. I always picture them as a red cartoon like the university symbol, but the real animal is ugly as mud and meaner than you can imagine. They roam in small packs or herds--whichever is the term for swine. One of the new developments is the plague of feral formerly domestic hogs destroying crops and pastures. These also are dangerous, and authorities encourage hunters to shoot the feral animals--being careful they're not targeting some farmer's swine.

Mexican Black Panther

Here's one animal I've been accused of making up. Years ago a friend was deer hunting on Thanksgiving weekend. Her deer stand was under a large tree, and she was sitting there freezing when leaves drifted down on her. She heard a loud noise, like a kitten purring, but magnified a hundred times. She looked up, and a black panther perched in the tree overhead. Needless to say, she panicked. Moving slowly, she climbed down from the stand and sidled away. As soon as she was in her pickup, she called Parks and Wildlife to report the sighting. The Ranger told her the animal was a Mexican black panter and she was lucky the cat had already feasted on a rancher's calf further down the creek. [*Note* I've included this in one of my works in progress. LOL] Last year, our neighbors lost their elderly dog to a black jaguar who looked like a black leopard. The coat was black with darker spots in the pattern of a leopard or jaguar.



Cougar, also called Mountain Lion

 Two years ago, our nearest neighbor, a woman rancher who raises black angus cattle, was training blackberry vines on the side of her farm tank. When she reached the top of the bank, she looked across the tank and met the gaze of a large cougar. She froze, and the cougar lowered into the grass and disappeared. She never saw where it went. Another friend who walks each morning stopped to admire a herd of deer grazing as sunlight hit the meadow. While she watched, a cougar took down one of the deer. Now she walks on her treadmill and/or later in the day. LOL

Red Fox--Don't let
cute fool you

Before we wised up and kept our cats permanently in the house, we had a lovely orange tabby named Tiger who had kittens on our patio. I was talking with her when a red fox sneaked up, grabbed a kitten, and took off into the orchard. Tiger screamed so loud I would have thought she was a cougar, and we both took off after the fox. Tiger lasted longer on the chase than I did, and those who know me won't be surprised at that. I run like a duck, a very slow duck. Until then, I had no idea kittens were vulnerable to foxes.

Black Bears are edging into East Texas

My eldest daughter lives in East Texas and is a Master Gardner who also works closely with the County Extension agents. Recently they have received warnings that black bears are moving into their area as the woods of Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma are being cut. One more critter to contend with.
 

Bobcat

One day I took home from our church women's meeting a very nice lady who no longer drives. We sat in her drive finishing a conversation when a Bobcat walked by. Unsure I was really seeing a Bobcat, I asked her. She said the bobcat comes by about once a day. Her home borders a very wilderness-like canyon area so I suppose the bobcat felt unthreatened. He was not huge, really not much bigger than our large house cat, Sebastian, but I wouldn't have wanted the bobcat angry with me. Hmm, I wouldn't want twenty-pound Sebastian angry with me either. :/

Siberian Tiger grooming

As a side note, are you aware that there are more rescued tigers in captivity in Texas than there are in the wild? Sad but true. Some of the "rescue" places are humane and some are not. Most of the tigers are from people who acquired them illegally then had to turn them over or have them confiscated. Tigers, while cute little kittens, make huge pets that require a lot of food, space, and care. My friend Dee Stuart has written a great mystery novel about a veterinarian who rescues tigers and I'm eager for her to have it published. She did a lot of research, which is how I learned about the tigers. There are different species and coloration.

There are many other interesting animals in the Southwest, but I'll save them for another day or another person to post. Let me leave you with this photo that I love. I don't know who took the photo, but he has a much better camera than mine. Here's a red-winged blackbird hitching a ride on a red-tailed hawk.