June 25 - Deer in the headlights!!!

It has been too wet lately for the landscaper to continue on the steps. On Monday, he took advantage of the rainy day to pick up more materials for us in Des Moines.

And, this past Saturday we loaded up some Old Black Water rocks at Quint City Stone in Davenport and hauled them back to Sundown. The largest of these 5 rocks was core drilled to make a fountain.....much like we had in our yard in Long Grove. We also picked up the block and fire ring to make our fire pit. The forecast is 89 degrees and humid with a slight chance for a shower tomorrow. Hopefully they can get the steps done soon and start on the patio and our fire pit. It would be nice to have this area ready for our 4th of July week with the family.

Our trip back from Davenport on Saturday evening was a challenge. It's normally a 3-hour drive with no stops. But this drive was bound to take a little longer with our load of rock. I had borrowed a tandem trailer from a good neighbor. We had strapped down our load and left Davenport about 6:45. We stopped for a bite to eat in Muscatine about 7:30 and checked the load. All was in good shape.

A few miles later south of Muscatine, Brenda alerted me to something flapping on the passenger's side of the trailer so we stopped. One of the straps had been severed but the load was staill in tact. I tied a good, solid square knot and tightened the strap once again. We stopped again and checked the load again at the Mount Pleasant exit....tightened down the straps just a bit and proceeded westbound on Hwy 34.

Just a few miles east of Fairfield at about 9:45 pm I noticed the bright lights of an eastbound train on the tracks. These heavily traveled tracks run parallel to Highway 34 for several miles near mile marker 217 - 219. Suddenly between the train and the highway a deer bounded out of the ditch directly ahead of us. I had little time to choose a course of action. There was too much weight on the trailer behind me to slam on the brakes and avoid her. I chose to slowly angle/drift our rig into the lefthand lane in hopes of avoiding a collision with this large doe. But, I was apparent that we were going to hit her. She barely missed the right front fender of the truck with my move into the left lane but she rammed into the trailer with a loud thump. I was able to maintain control of my F150 and the loaded trailer, thank God, and we slowed to a stop at the next gravel intersection. Upon inspection, there was no apparent damage and no blood anywhere on the side of the trailer. But we were sure that she hadn't fared well and was probably in very bad shape somewhere in the darkness behind us.

We proceeded on and once again checked our load at Ottumwa exit. It was there that I noticed that the tie down strap that had broken earlier was cut once again in a different spot a few inches past my knot. We lost the end of the strap this time.

When we got to Sundown and dropped the trailer at our neighbor's place about 11:15, Brenda noticed that the right front tire on the trailer's tandem axles was bent at an angle apparently from the impact with the deer. We're guessing that the axle is bent.....unfortunately for my friend and neighbor. Insurance will take care of the repair but not the inconvenience.

I feel lucky that we didn't have a bad collision with this deer. We could have easily taken a hard blow to the front end of the pickup and, even worse, been injured. I have never seen so many deer along the roads as I have in the past year of living in southern Iowa. I had another close encounter last year with the truck and a doe. If and when you come to visit us please be extra cautious and watch for these animals. Before and after dusk is the worst time. After hitting the deer Saturday evening, I'm sure we saw at least another 8-10 deer in our headlights before arriving home.

Although we are seeing quite a few fawns in the area around the lake, I'm hoping to not have to report any more deer stories anytime soon. The first week of December would be a good time to have another good deer story to tell. Tomorrow, I should have a report on landscaping once again!