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We’ve had some unusual visitors lately. They are scattered all over town. 
Ok, I’ll admit, deer aren’t really all that unusual out here. The woods are full of them, and you see them on the highway entirely too often. But generally you don’t see them wandering around from yard to yard downtown. In fact, I’ve gone years without having a single deer wander into my yard.
This year they are all over town. I have no idea why. It hasn’t been that harsh of a winter and hunting season is long over. Have they decided to reclaim what humans took from them well over a hundred years ago?
It’s probably a population boom. Most of the time the hunters keep them in balance, but now and then you get way too many of them. It only takes a few years for their population levels to get totally out of hand if you don’t watch it.
The Girl took one look and the deer wandering down our block, and elected to come home via the alley and back door. I don’t blame her. These are wild animals. You can’t expect to get too close without getting hurt.
And here I thought the grizzly bears and mountain lions in Glacier and the national forests were getting bold. What next? Moose? Oh wait. That was last year.
we have them everywhere….have a fam of them that lived in my backyard for the last 5 years…but they are def thick out there this season
My mother has at least one group (herd?) that visit her backyard regularly, but she doesn’t live down town. I live on a major artery. Traffic isn’t as heavy as on the Isthmus in Madison (near the capital building) but it’s along those lines.
My yard is covered in their poop… if it’ll fertilize for me and they’re eating my weeds, I will roll out the welcome mat!
I wish! No, they seem to go for the fruiting and flowering plants first and leave the kind of unevenly green grass you get with dogs.
Deer meat feeds many families in some places.
Maybe they’re return is somehow attached to comets nearing? Or the rare and unexplainable quest for the deer to see if the croci are up?
I like that white stuff, looks so quaint.
xoxoox
It’s been a good winter for the white stuff. I’m ready for some more melting and maybe some nice days. Yeah, I know I’m way early. The cats have cabin fever.
This past summer was the first in ages I saw no sign of deer. The drought must have had them on the move. Last weekend, however, I exited my building and started across the yard when I saw tracks in front of one of my front windows. Apparently someone was checking to see if my bushes were edible — there was one clear hoof print in the trace of snow received the night before (this was before we had that 10 inches dumped on us last week).
You have to expect some wild life voyeurism when you live near a preserve, though I didn’t realize there were all that many deer there.
Yeah…better a peeping buck than a peeping Tom, right?
There are actually quite a lot of deer in the area. I’m not only by the Arboretum, but near the extensive Nine Springs E-way…lots of prairie, marsh and woodland preserves. One evening summer before last I saw seven deer just in the small Grady Tract portion of the Arboretum.
Sweet location.
No deer here. We count ourselves lucky to see a possum or raccoon in the big city!
Don’t get me started on raccoons. I’m telling you, those suckers are as scary as skunks.
I’ve loved raccoons since reading Rascal, but even I wouldn’t want to come face to face with one. There’s a really HUGE one in my friend Kim’s neighborhood. We saw him (or her) lumbering across her yard late one night, and have seen signs of him and/or friends, but thankfully have had no up-close encounters.
I saw a lot more racoons in Madison than I do around here. Talk about big – like a medium size dog, only with a lot more attitude. I used to cross paths with them in the evenings a lot.
Wow!
I know, right?
to be honest, I’d prefer having a lot of deers around my house than rats…they are TOO many near my house
That’s scary. Seriously.
I’d love to have them be that visible, I think. LOL. They are so beautiful even if a ‘bit’ destructive.