I look through my Web stats periodically to see who is linking to my site.  Mostly it’s the same handful of sites providing links to my Random Notes page or to one of the articles that I’ve posted here.  But way down at the bottom of the links list I run across links to pictures that I’ve posted on the site.  I like to follow those links to see how the pictures are being used.  By far the funniest I’ve run across is Fawns: devils of the meadow:

While everyone knows that the adults of the family are nasty, vicious, violent brutes, many people are under the mistaken impression that this only begins to manifest as the animal reaches adulthood. This is not, in fact, so. Deer are quite simply born bad. Their lust for blood reaches a fever pitch within hours of birth, and what they lack in strength and size, they more than make up for with sheer animal cunning.

This “photo documentary” is simply hilarious.  The second picture on that page comes from this entry on my site.

I found another frog in the pool today.  This is by far the largest frog I’ve seen around here.  He’s half the size of Charlie’s head!  Frogs are hard to catch in the pool because they can swim a whole lot faster than I can push the net through the water.  I end up having to chase them around a bit before I can sneak up on them.  We have plenty of toads around here, but I’m always surprised when I find a frog.  It’s a long way from here to the creek.  I think the frogs get washed down the ditch in front of the house during heavy rains and then find their way to the swimming pool.  Whenever I find one I scoop it up and put it in my neighbor’s backyard pond.

The commonly held belief that birds don’t sing at night is bunk.  At least, the birds around here don’t seem to have any problem making noise right outside my bedroom window at 4:30 am, a full two hours before sunrise.  For several years now, mockingbirds have made nests in the bushes about 20 feet from the bedroom window.  Although I’m not sure that this morning’s songster (or songstress) was in fact a mockingbird, I’m reasonably certain.  I’ve never heard a bird with this particular call.  I don’t know if the song was a combination of the songs of multiple birds or if it was emulating some environmental noise, but you’ll understand, after listening to the recording, why I nicknamed it “Sprinkler Bird.”

Debra was headed out to work and Charlie, as usual, was leading the way.  He found this fawn curled up in front of the garage door..  Debra caught up and pulled him away before he could get too insistent with his sniffing.  He probably wouldn’t have hurt the thing unless it got up and started running away.  We took some pictures and left the fawn there.  Debra had to take the other car to work.

It’s not uncommon for deer to leave their young and go off  somewhere to forage.  Usually, though, the fawn is left in deep grass or under a bush—somewhere secluded.  I’ve come close to running one over with the lawn mower a time or two.  This is the first time I’ve seen one left out in the open like that.  The best explanation I’ve heard (this from a friend) is avoidance of fire ants.  A fawn that inadvertently lies down on or near a fire ant mound will probably end up as ant food.