Groundhogs Day and Deer Reprise

Even if Punxsutawney Phil did see his shadow today, I am feeling little tugs of spring in the back of my mind.

Like "Won't it be fun to see my bulbs bloom soon?!?" and

"I wonder if I have room for both corn and tall sunflowers in the back of my garden?" and

"I can't wait for fresh garden lettuce and tomatoes instead of these wannabe's..." and

"It's going to be interesting keeping dirt out of Tyler's mouth this year." and

"I wonder if my strawberries will survive being eaten by the deer?"

Speaking of deer, those naughty critters pulled a fast one on me. The snow cover had given me a (false) sense of security, and I thought they were gone since I hadn't seen them for about 3 weeks.

Then on Tuesday I saw my neighbor out the window, with her camera pointed into the fields behind our houses, and I followed her line of sight to see at least 18 head of deer lazing in the tall grass. It crossed my mind that they might look for food in my yard again, but there were also tractors, dump trucks, and a street sweeper swarming like ants all day, so I thought we'd be safe. They are starting to put in the roadway and utilities for more homes behind us. I will miss the pretty fields and views... 

Well I thought wrong. I was closing blinds at dusk and couldn't see the deer anymore... until I looked down in my own yard. ALL of them were grazing on my grass!!!!

I wish I had been more calm and collected and taken good pictures of 18 deer in my yard, but all I could do was run through the house yelling for everyone to follow me outside. Of course as soon as we opened the door they ran for the hills.

The yard was melted and soggy so now it's a muddy mess. Grrrrrr. Maybe I shouldn't mind the tractors waking me up at 6:30 every morning. A little more development might keep the deer out of my stuff!

Deer Damage

We have some deer taking up residence.

My neighbor sent us this picture while we were on vacation over New Year's. Another neighbor dropped by one evening before Christmas and said they thought we had some of those deer yard decorations that light up, but then they moved and blinked. We have had to make noise and chase them out of the yard multiple times.

I'm still baffled that deer found us here in the middle of a valley, miles away from the mountains where they typically live. I asked my brother-in-law (an avid deer hunter) about it and he said they love it down here in the valley because the have easy access to food and little competition. I guess it's time to get a yappy dog!

I took some pictures around Thanksgiving of what the deer were eating.  They have broken and stripped some branches of this limber pine.

I left some pumpkins in the garden late into the season, hoping they would turn all the way from green to orange. Learned my lesson there!

I knew deer liked pansies, but now I know deer like pansies.

The most aggravating part is the footprints in the grass. Our turf is still so new and thin that the deer hooves just puncture through it and leave deep holes. That will be fun to fix in the spring!

I've been researching deer repellents and there are some crazy ideas out there! My friend Doris told me to put a bar of soap in some nettting (like my nylon?) and hang it on the deer-desirable tree. We'll see if it's worth anything.

My same neighbor told me she saw a movie where they covered their yard with hair. Gross.

When in doubt, I always trust state Cooperative Extension services more than anyone. I found this helpful fact sheet from Colorado State. It can be saved and printed as a .pdf. Their ideas are weird too (hot sauce, a solution of raw eggs and water!?) but at least they are tried and tested.

Apparently the most effective repellents are a fence (novel idea) and deer resistant plants. Although I wouldn't mind distributing some lavender and Hawthorns around my landscape, I just don't think I can give up my dreams of roses, tulips, apple trees, and grapes! Guess we'll have to go with the fence.