Life in Syria: September

The season is changing. September 2nd brought a cool breeze in the morning with that something undefinable in it that is the first hint of the encroachment of winter.

The wild animals in mountains surrounding Syria are strange this year.

Bertha lives up in Weakley Hollow, about 2 miles up the road from me. There is a bear, she says, the same one every time. At first it came into her yard. Then, it would venture up onto her porch while she was in the house. Now the bear is attacking Bertha's screen door attempting to get inside the house. When Bertha is in the house.

Shelly lives up Road 600, past Bill Curd's wood pile, past the little bridge near the mouth of White Oak Canyon. Several nights ago, a wild animal attacked Shelly's old mare and injured the horse very badly. Gashes on its knees and forelegs. Tears in its neck. Long, deep claw marks across its rump. They say a bear will not attack a horse. If not a bear, then it was a mountain lion. And, the Park is monitoring lions in the heights. Would a big cat come so close to civilization if it was starving? Strange to have this type of attack only a couple of miles from my horse, from my house.

This Wednesday morning, standing in my kitchen, a fox crossed my paddock in broad daylight not ten minutes after I had finished my riding lesson. One minute the paddock is full of the movement of a horse, dust, noise, dogs tussling and running around. Then, a fox just crosses--a very risky thing to do. The fox was not in a hurry. He knew what he needed to do. He just trotted across the lot in a straight line, paused at the fence to check the road for traffic, and crossed to the creek. Probably needed water. I am glad that I do not own a cat.

With the drought has come starvation for the predators at the top of the food chain, and also privation and hunger for the larger of the prey animals. Deer raided a neighbors garden and consumed all the tomatoes. The deer raid this garden every summer, but this is the first time that desperation has driven them to gorge on tomatoes.

The Lodge now runs bear hay rides out to a local corn field. The bear are needing to eat the corn. The hay rides used to cost $1. Now they cost $5 because of the bear who need the corn because the drought has reduced their food supply.

The hunters now have their packs out, selectively, working the hounds to get them into shape for bear season which starts after the end of October.

Now, we have rain. What is left of Hurricane Dennis has finally sent rain to the mountains. Too late for hay and crops. Maybe not too late for bear, lions, and deer.

And Dip Lucy turned 89 years old. Tonight was his second birthday party in as many nights. He cut the endurance riding trails for Syria. At least the ones I ride on.

Susie