My wife usually has a bag of apples on the kitchen counter. For me I like the larger apples, but for deer I like the smaller apples, although I sometimes worry they will choke on them. I don’t give deer CPR.
I don’t know what kind they really enjoy, but if they have visited our yard before, they pretty well know what to expect. I enjoy watching the deer and quite often they put on a show with locked antlers and a shoving match. This winter they seem a little skittish. Recently we had three females in the yard. The youngest was the most curious, while the older ones stood guard. At one point all three stopped what they were doing and looked to their left. I followed their eyes and saw a raccoon walking through the yard next door. Deer don’t see well, but they have great noses.
Peg doesn’t like deer eating her tomatoes, so those and other plants have long been moved to our deck. Dan Folk of Apex Tree Experts suggested we plant filberts to attract and feed deer. Deer eat leaves and twigs, and even acorns, so hazelnuts seem reasonable.
I keep a couple bags of Red Delicious apples on my work bench to feed our Huson Street Deer. The price is affordable and the deer seem to like them. Deer don’t come looking for me, but if they’ve had a couple apples and see me disappear into my office I’ve had them come up within a few inches of my office window.
Healthy adult males run between 200-300 pounds, while females are between 90-200 pounds, so I don’t think they are in any danger of starving, but I kept an eye out for them during our latest snow storms, anyway.
I have a few blackbirds (I call them Ravens cuz it sounds cooler to me) , Elvis the squirrel and his friends and family visit my front yard most everyday. If I don’t have the few crumbs out for them, I get squawked and chattered at till the food appears.
I love seeing them. They are fun to watch. Once in a blue moon, a deer or two will wander down the driveway, on their way to the lake, I imagine. A coyote visited once when I first moved back home. Duper, my 80 pound Lab, saw him through the hedge, then charged the fence. Coyote left…haven’t visited our neck of the woods since, that I can tell…lol!
Anyway, I just felt like writing this morning. Nothing important, just a quick way to touch the world beyond my walls.
Jerri,
Thanks for reading and commenting.
I believe the correct term is crows, which rhymes with “pack up all your cares and woes.” The last time I recall actually seeing a blackbird was at the Port of Tacoma’s Gog-le-hi-te Wetlands located along the Puyallup River, where I saw a redwing blackbird. Do your blackbirds have a black beak or a yellow/brown beak. I’m curious and curiouser . . .
Now, squirrels are a strange lot. I am at war with them and have been for years. They are scary. A number of years ago I was cleaning out our pantry. There was a coffee can filled with various nuts still in their shells. I thought I would share them, not realizing that perhaps the meats had turned to alcohol. I dumped the can by a flower bed and the next day was confronted by an aggressive squirrel. He stood his ground and barked at me. I was afraid of an attack, but luckily a couple of his friends joined him for an intervention.
Deer can be aggressive also, but unlike squirrels their ankles don’t turn completely around, which keeps them from climbing up and down trees with ease.
Keep and eye on SuperDuper, coyotes are like wolves. They are happy to run from aggressive dogs until they catch them in an ambush.
Our walls have been closing in around us lately with the snow. A client came over for coffee yesterday morning. I asked about the roads. He said the worst road was the road right in front of our house. Luck of the draw, I guess.
Thanks, again for sharing.
Don
Hey there, Don Doman, and like-minded friends: Why don’t you all get together and adopt a Polar Bear, do something useful. While your’re at it, drop by and round up the deer in Chambers Creek Canyon; relocate them to less, YES LESS, urban habitat; give them a lecture about the hazards of asphalt? And while you’re at it, send us your coyotes. Thanks. bw
Bob,
Thank you for reading and writing.
Many years ago I purchased a small polar bear sculpture from Canada. It was made from soapstone . . . about six inches long . . . and two inches tall. I think it had some magical qualities to ward off polar bears. I eventually sold it at a garage sale. The person who bought it must still live in the area, because I have never heard of a polar bear sighting since first bringing the sculpture home. Therefore, I think adopting a polar bear would be counter-productive. Round up the deer in Chambers Creek Canyon? Are people now building in the canyon? Deer only exist where they are successful. Perhaps the Lakewood Community Foundation could fund a program to help people co-exist with deer, golfers, asphalt and native Americans selling salmon along the road between the canyon and Steilacoom. I have seen coyotes around our home Tacoma’s north end and then seen reports of them heading south near the Narrows Bridge. Perhaps, our coyotes are stepping off the ferry at Pt. Defiance. Coyotes are like progress . . . always moving ahead . . .
Thanks for reading and sharing.
Don