If it ain’t rodents, it’s ruminants.
Recently, perfectly elliptical patterns of trampled vegetation began appearing in our lawn. It was like a midget UFO was using our yard as its personal landing spot. But, the true culprit was revealed when I pulled into the driveway one evening and a startled deer fawn leaped from the underbrush and sprinted for cover. Unable to jump any of our fences, the fawn paced the perimeter of the yard until its mother appeared at dusk, taking cautious glances at her offspring from the shelter of the neighbors’ trees. I propped a gate open, and a few hours later the family was gone.
I figured that the incident would cause the animals to steer clear of our yard for awhile. But this weekend, I was outside one afternoon and saw the same fawn quietly lounging by the fence in the front yard.
Mom was nowhere to be found. I was a bit perplexed by this behavior until a little Google-ing taught me that deer daycare consists of parking your kid somewhere (anywhere will work, apparently, which explains the flat spots in the lawn), giving them the “stay put” signal, and literally high-tailing it to the nearest patch of woods.
Perhaps deer like the adrenaline rush of being discovered because the fawn and its posse have visited our yard several more times over the past week. And they made it clear why deer fencing is so tall. In the picture below, I caught one of the animals mid-flight, effortlessly leaping a retaining wall from several yards away.
Capable critters, yes. Smart? Certainly not.
At least they don’t try to live in your attic.
The Ordinary House 
Those deer are jumping out of your yeard to head over and meet the herd at Karen and Bob Ireland’s….Would love to come over, at your conenience and see what you have improved since Dec…Meanwhile, here is today’s paper’s winning essay about Daddy; Dr. Bob Murphy and his first visit to me in NYC.
Cheers,
Zacki
You live in a veritable nature preserve.
I know deer can be pains in the butt, especially when they sit on/eat/trample what you’ve so carefully planted. But they sure are pretty. The photos are great! Fun to look at.
Hmmm…..over at the Webb House (two streets away from you) the former owners installed nine foot high deer fencing around the entire back perimeter. Usually, it’s entirely effective. That said?? Some dumb deer (fully grown) apparently came through the back gate (I’d left it open) and found itself caught in the back yard. Then?…not, having notifced the deer, I let the three very rowsty terriers out the back door that morning. They chased that enterprisingly freaked-out deer into the courtyard (bounded on three sides by wings of the house and backed with a stone wall). All hell broke loose (along with about five, large clay-pots) for about five, very-long minutes. The damn deer eventually got away from the dogs (none of whom weighs more than fifteen pounds), figured out how to go back through the gate, and crazily ran off, zig-zagging down Queen Street. My mother called on the telephone just moments afterwards, asked how I was “doing” that morning, and I told that I felt as though I were living in a Baghdad/Beirut war-zone.
It was all VERY LOUD…..
As far as I’m concerned, deer are like swimming pools; I like to see them at the houses of friends, but I don’t want them on my own property.
Advisedly yours as ever,
David Terry
http://www.davidterryart.com
117 E. Queen Street