Thursday, November 10, 2011

Oh deer...

We hadn't seen many deer all spring and summer, but now that they're out looking for love, we're seeing plenty of them.  
Cliff and I walk in the midst of deer every day when we're out for exercise, but since we're usually chatting, the deer know we're coming and lay low.  We often see spots where they've bedded down for the night, and after a rain we see lots of hoof prints.
The other day I was calling Bonnie-the-Jersey-cow up to the barn; she was off to the north and began slowly making her way to me, mooing with every other step.  (She thinks I only feed her to shut her up, so she is very vocal.)  Max-the-calf was following a few yards behind her.  
As I watched them approach, a deer trotted by them headed in the opposite direction, passing not ten feet away from Bonnie; she didn't even give him a second look, and he didn't acknowledge her.  He just kept going north.  Max stopped and watched the deer as it went by, then suddenly turned and started chasing it.  
Who knows what goes through their silly heads?  Maybe Max thought it was an ugly long-lost relative.  
I do know we've mended electric fence almost every other day lately.  Deer, like cattle and horses, learn where the electric fences are; it doesn't deter them as it does livestock, but they leap over the fences easily once they know where they are.  This time of year when a deer's fancy turns to love, bucks and does unfamiliar with our property and blinded by lust are running through those wires and breaking them at an unbelievable rate.  
We've seen plenty of the critters lately, most of them within sight of our house.  I enjoy seeing them, I'm just tired of mending electric fences.  
Deer season starts Saturday, and Ryan, a young man who used to live next door, is going to hunt on our property.  I wish him the best of luck.   

6 comments:

  1. Lots of deer, here, too, even in town. My mom lives in the same neighborhood as we do but has never seen a deer in her yard. I called her Tuesday just after midnight to tell her there were two does on her front lawn. She didn't want to look. Denial is an interesting hobby, LOL.

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  2. The deer population is increasing here. Most every time I'm out I see one along the road that had apparently met up with an oncoming car while trying to cross the road. Hunters are needed to keep their population down. A warning to all drivers to be on the look out. There has been a lot of housing developments built over the years on what used to be farmer's fields and the deer are being forced out of what used to be their homes. That's not a good thing for them or us at all.

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  3. fleta is afraid they will kill her deer. we don't see any because of dogs.

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  4. Funny story about Max chasing a deer. Sorry to hear about the damage to your fences. I love seeing the deer out and about. I think they are beautiful. Usually see more of them around Christmas here. Or when I travel. My uncle is a big fan of venison. Me, I could live without it. Take care.

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  5. I'm thinking of getting an electric fence to keep my neighbors away.......

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  6. Yeah, I hear you on the electric fences and deer issue. We have that too. We don't have that much elec fencing, but what we DO have the deer manage to find with unerring accuracy.

    I also wish the hunters luck tomorrow.

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