The geese came back today & the deer mingled with them in our yard.

*************************

COVID-19 LIVE UPDATES SUNDAY:

“Missouri has the nation's 10th highest per capita rate of infection, 18.33 %”KMBC News

“As fall approaches in the Northern Hemisphere, doctors are already seeing signs of a dramatic second wave of infection that will be almost impossible to contain until a vaccine is developed and widely distributed -- another step that is already facing fierce opposition.” CNN

“The chief of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is now prepared to bypass the full federal approval process in order to make a Covid-19 vaccine available as soon as possible”, according to an interview in The Financial Times. “Last week, The Financial Times reported that the Trump administration was considering an emergency use authorization BEFORE THE PRESIDENTAL ELECTION for an experimental coronavirus vaccine developed in the U.K. by Oxford University and AstraZeneca.” CNBC News

Normally, I’m very pro vaccination. Beyond all the normal vaccinations I also have all kinds of travel vaccinations. During the Swine Flu pandemic, my husband, my mom, and I didn’t hesitate to immediately rush out to get our Swine Flu vaccinations as soon as it became available back in 2009. Now in 2020, we’ve been praying and waiting for a safe & effective coronavirus vaccine that will enable us to escape from this never ending, Stay-at-Home isolation.

However, I honestly don’t trust getting an experimental vaccine that has NOT passed full FDA approval and is being politically pushed. The idea that Trump is using an unproven COVID vaccine, to help him win the upcoming election, is rather frightening. Now, I understand why Fauci has been warning about the dangers of a COVID vaccine being released too soon.

Will this nightmare ever end?

*************************

Although I’m not happy about deer and goose poop in our yard, my watching the wildlife, do whatever wildlife do, has been quite therapeutic during these difficult times. Over the Summer of 2020, I’ve actually learned a lot of new things about wildlife behavior that I never considered before. The Squirrels and the groundhogs absolutely do not like deer. If a deer appears on the scene, they run. However, birds seem to get along extremely well with the deer. Even song birds will allow deer to come within inches of them.

I was photographing a groundhog today when the geese wandered into our yard. The groundhog stopped grazing & went back to sit close to his burrow hole. Then, three deer approached the geese that weren’t at all bothered. The groundhog instantly panicked and fled. An equally panicked squirrel ran the other direction.

I’ve learned to look for deer if one of the groundhogs unexpectedly flees in terror. I don't quite understand why groundhogs are so afraid of deer, but they are.