The Original Beep

We have a herd of deer who choose to live on Cabbage Ranch.  Over the past four years, we've watched the herd evolve, watched deer come and go, and watched our doe, Tabor, grow up and become a mother.

She was once a tiny fawn.

We named her after Baby Doe Tabor, the scandalous wife of a silver mining magnate in 19th century Colorado.

Tabor grew and thrived, entertained us and taught us much.

She required a tremendous amount of care, and I actually don't recommend raising a deer fawn.  As wonderful as she has been, I believe that raising a deer the right way is a full-time job. 

At the time, I was working from home, so I made it work... but it was very demanding.  It was a relief when Tabor was older and self-sufficient. 

My goal was always to allow her to make her own deer choices, and I'm proud of the way she's assimilated.  It is Tabor's choice to continue to live on Cabbage Ranch, and I am very grateful she has decided to stick around.  She has been a joy in our lives. 

Two years ago, at two years of age, Tabor had her first baby, a buck we called Sunny.  When Sunny was old enough, he struck out on his own.  We've seen him a few times since and assume he is off living his bachelor existence.

Last year, about the time I had Beep, Tabor had twins- a girl and a boy. 

We called the girl Abby and the boy C.D.  They are carbon copies of their pretty mother, although now C.D. is sportin' a nice set of antlers.  Abby is so like her mother that they are hard to tell apart sometimes.  That's always a bit disconcerting... it's like not being able to tell your own children apart. 

Both Abby and C.D. still live here, although it's just a matter of time until C.D. leaves to live his own life.

Abby herself became a mother this year which means Tabor is a grandmother.  Tabor also had another set of twins this spring, who are growing big and strong.  She always has the most beautiful babies, with shapely heads and darker coloring than the rest of the whitetails around here.  But we're not biased. ;)

Left to right: Abby, Tabor, 2011 twins, and an unrelated doe (the granddaughter of a 2007 orphaned doe we discovered living on our place when we bought it.  Her name was Charlotte, and she left a couple of years ago).

Tabor is very sweet with Beep.

We are teaching our baby to love our deer, provide for her, and respect her.

I know many of you have asked about the nicknames we give each other and our animals, so I'll leave you with this... 

When Tabor was tiny, she would vocalize in little, high-pitched squeaks that we called "beeps."  Her nickname quickly became Beep, and all babies soon afterward became referred to as Beeps.

When I became pregnant with our baby, we started calling our unborn child Baby Beep, and Beep is still the name she goes by at home.

Tabor, the mother of four lovely deer, and grandmother to two, is now called The Original Beep.