On The Silly Side by Jimmy Del Ponte

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Oh, see the deer. Does the deer have a little doe? Yea, two bucks! Thank you, Curly Howard.

This past weekend my son and I were driving up to our little camp in New Hampshire. I had to work so we got up to the road that the camp is on at around midnight. We were talking casually back and forth when all of a sudden we saw a large deer and several babies. I thought there were two, but my son said he counted three. It was one of the most awesome sights I have ever seen. They were less than a foot away from the truck. At first I thought I was seeing things because a sight like that isn’t an everyday occurrence. There they were, Bambi and her mom and siblings, right out of a Walt Disney movie.

The extent of my excitement just shows you how little involvement I have had with Mother Nature since I grew up in Somerville. We saw plenty of squirrels, pigeons, skunks, possums, mice, dogs and cats. I have also seen a wild turkey with six babies on Kidder Ave. near Powder House Park. I took pictures of them and put them on Facebook.

Sometimes friends would have rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, turtles and fish. The strange ones would have a snake. Other animals had to be seen at the zoo. My friend actually used to be the caretaker for Babe the elephant at the Stone Zoo in Stoneham. He would do tricks with the pachyderm and then the large beast would eat a carrot right out of my friend’s mouth. He got his brother in law a job at the zoo feeding the birds in the aviary. It included putting food out for the ostriches. He was told to move very slowly and never run in the ostrich pen no matter what. Long story short, he ran, the ostrich clawed him and he got a whole lot of stitches on his back.

We are Somerville kids, we don’t know from wild animals. We do however know when there is a skunk in the hood. Several times ginormous raccoons have set off the sensor lights in my yard. Those fat little suckers are certainly eating well.

I remember a few months ago I saw my very first fox and was blown away. There he was just standing on the side of a dirt road. I was so psyched to see the little red fellow. The first time I saw the City Hall hawk was a thrill. You can see the nest up on the corner of the first Somerville High School building closest to City Hall. It was quite a sight to see. That is one big bird!

When you grow up in the inner city, you really appreciate seeing wild animals. Well, at least I do. A friend of mine told me she saw a moose in Maine. She said it was about eight feet tall. Recently there have been black bear sightings around Massachusetts. Hey, Boo Boo!

Somerville is still a place where you can see some pretty cool creatures. A few times there must have been around 40 robins feeding near the tower at Powder House Park. I have seen sparrows, starlings, cardinals, blue jays, woodpeckers, doves and crows in my neighborhood. By the mess that’s left on my truck sometimes, you would think flocks of eagles fly by regularly (or should I say, irregularly!). I still get excited when I see a bunch of ducks flying in a “V” formation. You usually hear them honking before you see them. And the closer to the water you get, the more seagulls you see.

Nowadays you can see a new breed of animal know as the “Somerville nonconformist.” This untamed varmint can be seen disregarding the rules and laws by letting their canines run loose around bike paths and parks. Other inner city animals are the “cell phone talking road hog,” the “conscious-less litterbug,” and the “sidewalk jogging jack asses,” who expect walkers to get out of there way. Sometimes these creatures are un-bear-able!” Thankfully, we have the Lions, Elks, and Moose Clubs that are always doing great things for communities.

So grab your binoculars and be prepared because you never know what you are going to see out there.