Oh deer
Went out to the 'burbs yesterday to have dinner with the family to celebrate my dad's birthday. (Happy B-day, Dad!) Dad and my stopmom live in an area that my friends in high school used to consider... shall we say ... um, er... the sticks (only in somewhat more graphic and less polite language).
To illustrate, the previous owners of the house had sheep on the land to keep the grass short; a number of folks in the area used to (still do?) own horses; and there are no street lights. I don't think there are even lines on the sides of the main road. It was considered somewhat bucolic.
Now, all the farms have been sold, the trees cut and houses are popping EVERYWHERE. None of the old landmarks are the same, and I even missed a turn (a few years ago) because there were houses at an intersection where there had been none previously. I am concerned that the infrastructure cannot support such a population explosion. Part of the area is a bird sanctuary, so the roads cannot be widened (which is fine by me). But formerly rustic roads can't possibly take all the commuting traffic, and I know that the municipal sewage/water system didn't used to extend out there... maybe it does now?
But with all the suburban sprawl, I wonder what is going to happen to the animals...? In a one-mile stretch between my dad's and mom's houses, I saw eleven deer. In the daylight. In yards. Looking for food. All the construction has drastically reduced the woods, and I guess they have no place to go. I'm not making any comments on human v. animal habitats, but I can only think this rapid, rapid growth will have more consequences than displacing the deer.
Or maybe I'm just pining for the green of my youth?
To illustrate, the previous owners of the house had sheep on the land to keep the grass short; a number of folks in the area used to (still do?) own horses; and there are no street lights. I don't think there are even lines on the sides of the main road. It was considered somewhat bucolic.
Now, all the farms have been sold, the trees cut and houses are popping EVERYWHERE. None of the old landmarks are the same, and I even missed a turn (a few years ago) because there were houses at an intersection where there had been none previously. I am concerned that the infrastructure cannot support such a population explosion. Part of the area is a bird sanctuary, so the roads cannot be widened (which is fine by me). But formerly rustic roads can't possibly take all the commuting traffic, and I know that the municipal sewage/water system didn't used to extend out there... maybe it does now?
But with all the suburban sprawl, I wonder what is going to happen to the animals...? In a one-mile stretch between my dad's and mom's houses, I saw eleven deer. In the daylight. In yards. Looking for food. All the construction has drastically reduced the woods, and I guess they have no place to go. I'm not making any comments on human v. animal habitats, but I can only think this rapid, rapid growth will have more consequences than displacing the deer.
Or maybe I'm just pining for the green of my youth?
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