We have seven deer who have taken our farm as their home. We see them in the late afternoon grazing in the pasture, and at night resting, not far from the house. There are three does and four little ones that come into the yard, scouring the ground for acorns or nibbling on my flowers. We like to watch them, and in turn, they watch us, with their heads held high and tail flags waving.
But last night they became a little too neighborly, eating off all the new growth my rose bush had put out after the hot, dry summer. You can see by looking at this picture, made in the spring, why it really didn't make me too happy; will the bush recover and have blooms next spring? I sure hope so!
I wonder if the deer will be able to find enough food this winter; the fruit on this persimmon tree might be an indication of what will be available to them. The persimmons are the smallest I ever remember seeing, just about the size of a big marble. I suppose the drought caused this. 
So, if the rose bush puts out new leaves before frost, I must try to protect it somehow from our four-footed neighbors.
Charlotte
You got such a pretty picture of them. I always get excited when I see deer on our propety........last year we had a big buck in our front yard.......however, I have been warned at how I will grow to get fussy with them once they eat up every thing. Maybe you can put a fence cage over your roses? Blessings,Kathleen
ReplyDeleteWe are seeing lots of deer here too. I need to look at our Persimmons tree and see how the fruit is doing. I hope deer season is a good one. I like deer meat.
ReplyDeleteHave a great day, Charlotte.
Oh no! A beautiful rose too.
ReplyDeleteIt must have been a hard year for the deer to be coming in so close for food. A friend of mine in the country has no roses because of the deer. I've always had a dog to chase them out of my yard but now we are fenced in on a busy corner so no deer.
I hope you are able to save your rose from the deer.
I don't know whats worse...the deer, the armadillo (digging holes)or the skunks (spraying in the middle of the night)...or maybe the cute little squirrels eating on my pumpkins that I have displayed in the yard. I get aggravated with them but they all are unique in their on way.
ReplyDeleteWe have lots of deer-but the neighborhood dogs seem to keep them at bay from my garden-and flowers. I love the photos in this post : )
ReplyDeleteI think the armadillos are worse I hate all those holes they put in the ground!
ReplyDeleteKaren
http://karensquilting.com/blog/
I love deer, I think they are so pretty. We have deer that eat the leaves from my berry plants.
ReplyDeleteI love the picture of them,so close like that. Deer are timid little creatures but they'll eat your flowers and everything up. It's exciting to see them. I've seen them walking down the middle of the creek at the back of my house. To many dogs around, they try to cover their scent..
ReplyDeleteI see deer almost every day, but not in my yard yet. I have lots of squirrels and I use to love to watch them. We became enemies when they ate all my seedlings the first day I put them out last spring! :)
ReplyDeleteI think it's wonderful that you live where the deer can come right into your yard. They are so pretty, with that said, so sorry about your rose bush. I know that must be frustrating. Hope you come up with a way to enjoy the deer and save your plants...
ReplyDeleteI can certainly sympathize. We love seeing the deer and rabbits, but they're so destructive! I wish I could train them to only eat weeds!
ReplyDeleteCharlotte: I somehow "misplaced your email address so am answering your note here. I hope that's okay:-)
ReplyDeleteHi Charlotte,
Please don't apologize for "long" notes. I always enjoy hearing from you. Thanks so much for sharing that website. I will look at it this evening.
I have to share something with you. For the first time ever, we have cable tv. It came with the apartment we're renting until our new home is built. I discovered that the Waltons is on in the afternoon, and I gave myself the treat of watching the other day. The story focused on John Boy and a writer he met. The writer gave John Boy some wonderful advice about his writing. He told him not to look for the Big Story but rather to write about the small things that happened in his every day life. Those are the things, he said, that would resonate with readers.
I remember that in "Little Women" the professor's advice to Jo was to "write what you know."
I love your stories about your life on the farm now and your growing up years. You have such a clear, sweet, honest voice - your voice, not Ann's or mine or anyone else's. You tell your stories in such a lovely way. I love reading them.
I have a secret little wish to write a mystery one of these days. Right now, I have felt the Lord steering me toward poetry writing. That was the workshop I got put into at the retreat. But I have to confess - I don't feel very inspired right now. I think I'm still feeling the affects of the move. I am just plain tired out. I am longing for some quiet days when I don't have any place to go or anything we have to do! Soon I hope.
Thank you again for writing Charlotte. I so appreciate your friendship. It is always a joy to find a kindred spirit!
With love,
Linda
What a beautiful rose bush! We used to see deer near our subdivision, but with the growth we don't see them anymore. I miss seeing wildlife so close to home.
ReplyDeleteWe had deer at Knoxville that were so bold they ate my gardenia down to a nub. The ones here at London seem to be a little more timid. I do love watching the little family of deer.
ReplyDelete