Yes, that title is right … my deer friends. But also my dear deer friends. 🙂
These wild dear deer friends come to the community where I live to visit and feed and poop and race around and bring their kids and spend time over at the lake and just hang out around our homes (and eat some of our plants). This community where I live is close enough to the outskirts of town, and close enough to a great number of small lakes, and close enough to a satisfactory number of wooded areas (for their protection while they sleep) that the deer like it here. And I sure like them being here.
Earlier this year, in late spring, I’d been on a walk around the community. As I headed back towards the end of my cul-de-sac, towards my home, I saw these two deer … dark haired momma directly in front of me, and lighter haired son off to the right.
The fawn was busy eating my Euonymus bush. [There are so many varieties that neither I nor my knowledgeable neighbors can figure out which variety this particular bush is.] But this fawn loved it.
Momma wasn’t happy with my being there so she walked slowly off towards the neighbors’ house. But the fawn stayed and munched away.
“Mom, where are you going?”
“Ok, mom, you go, but I’m staying. This is a tasty bush.”
“Well, ok, I guess I’ll go too. Wait for me, mom”.
You’ll see Mom’s rear end on the left, and her son’s rear end on the right.
After I got inside my house and put stuff away, I looked out the back window to find that these two deer were still hanging around behind my house.
Look at his ears!!! He’s such a young-un, but look at those ears!
Later this same year (below), I saw a mother and son out behind my house. I like to think they were the same ones from earlier this spring. 🙂
Mom is on the left … son is on the right. Keep in mind that I’m outside the house, out on the patio, and they certainly know that I’m standing there. Again, he stays and chomps away, and scratches and thinks about things. It was really great to see them again.
I always figure the deer were in this neighborhood before we were. We planted a big variety of plants, and are happy to share with them.
I planted hardy fuschias because they are so beautiful and care free, knowing they
are attractive to deer. The first year we were here, they ate all the buds off a couple of my fuschia plants. Two weeks later they were loaded with blooms again, and the deer have pretty much h left them alone ever since.
They do continue to devastate my Sasanqua camellias, so sadly I have no winter blooming shrubs. However it’s a happy tradeoff to have these visitors in our yard!
How odd about the fuschias and the deer. Maybe by the second set of blooms there was other “better” food in the area? Oh, yeah, camellias, they chewed mine down to the stalks until I started spraying wolf urine around the camellias, which won’t hurt the deer at all, just make them roll their eyes and keep walking. There is a limit! 🙂
Delightful. Thanks for sharing with the deer and with us.
🙂 Happy to.
Love those ears! I recently moved away from “town” in order to get back to the country and the deer and the birds and the quiet. I love it out here. I had been thinking about buying a small travel trailer to tow behind my SUV to get out into the country, but maybe I’m already there!
Similar thoughts here, Emily. It’s so quiet where I live that I’m thinking I won’t mind so much when it comes time to give up trailering.
Love the stories you tell with the photos. Keep ’em coming! 🙂
Will do! 🙂
Animals talk, and you really seem to know what they say, like the little fellow who hung around to eat the Euonymus even after his mom was gone. What fun. Love the ears.
Animals sure do talk, Pat. What some humans call bird song, is actually bird talk. I had a dog that knew exactly what I was saying, but I usually didn’t have a clue what she was saying. So, who is smarter than whom? 🙂
We have deer in our area too, up in BC Canada. And raccoons and rabbits and other furry critters. But the deer do seem to like to eat the shrubs that we plant for OUR enjoyment. And yet, as Arlene says (above), the deer were here first, so who can blame them for eating whatever they want to eat. We’ve taken to planting twice as much of the plants we want to enjoy so we have a little bit left over for us. Kindness counts.
Jim
Oh, good idea, Jim. I plant plants for birds and bees and such, guess I’ll start planting more plants (AWAY from my house) that are food for the deer. Yes, kindness counts, good reminder.
How cool. A lot of people would shoo away the deer, but you stop at a distance and let them eat your plants and you even take their picture doing that! No wonder they come back later in the year to feed off your tree. You’re the best. 🙂 Wish all humans were so kind.
Spread kindness. Spread happiness. Stop and watch and listen and learn. I try to remember those things, while also speaking up when needed. Thanks Greg.
Perfect. 🙂
🙂
“Wait for me, mom!” I love it. 🙂
I swear he said that!!
Some folks might say that deer aren’t endangered so why be so kind and considerate of them. I say, we’re ALL endangered! Let’s support healthy life for all of us. Thanks Ann (and others here) for doing that with your neighbor deer.
I’m told I have big ears too. 🙂
Ha, good thought,Ben. Indeed, we ALL are endangered especially when we destroy other life.
LOL! Big ears mean a big heart I think. 🙂
Aack, I got behind in reading your blog. Caught up now. 🙂 I love how you talk about the animals you come across in your life, as other readers here do too. Whether birds or mammals (hmm, I don’t remember any interactions between you and reptiles!) … but you are so kind.
And I, too, plant plants that local animals eat … rabbits and birds and bees and butterflies. I hope everyone does more of that.
Oh reptiles. I don’t talk with reptiles much. Oh my no. I was raised in the Philippines and taught to be deathly afraid of snakes because there were so many that were so extrememly dangerous. Here at home now in the PacNW, all we have are garter snakes who are no danger at all, but my gosh when I see one I jump and run! So no, I don’t tend to stand around and talk with snakes, or other reptiles either. 🙂
Thanks, Babe, for helping feed everyone, that’s really cool.