Floral Decor

For the first time since we moved here ten years ago, the deer haven’t eaten our tulips. It makes me happy.

And our lilac bush, which has been a lilac stick for the past ten years, actually has some blossoms on it this year. Again, happy. 😊

Stupid Deer!

This past summer, Nathan and my mother-in-law spent a day gathering supplies and creating a lovely barrel full of fake flowers for my front yard since the dumb deer keep eating the real ones. The past few days, we’ve found fake flowers scattered across the lawn because the deer have been attempting to eat those as well only to find them less than satisfying.

Really, I wish the city council would decide on a course of action and to something about the dumb “urban deer problem” rather than sitting and doing nothing because they are afraid of offending someone. 😠

Hoofed Squatters

There were deer in our yard this morning. This is not an unusual occurrence, but this time they weren’t just passing through. There were two deer just lazing in the back yard. They didn’t even flinch when Kev opened the door and hollered at them. When he walked out the door they got up as if they had all the time in the world and wandered back toward the street. Kev and the big boys left for school and work and by the time the garage door had closed, our visitors were back. Malia asked me what their names were and when I told her they didn’t have names, she did not think that was right. She defended her claim by reminding me of Dasher and Donnor and Rudolph.

Later this morning she told me the deer’s names were Gatcha and Gitcher. I’m not sure naming them is a good thing…

This is Why There’s Been Much Talk In Our Community Concerning What To Do About the “Urban Deer”

The dumb thing wasn't even scared. It just stared at us and then calmly returned to eating our lawn. It was the middle of the day. And there were three of us having a staring contest with the not-so-wild-life. Sigh. At least it is fall. In the spring they nip the buds off all my tulips and it makes me crazy. At this point it just means we won't have to haul the lawn mower out again this season.

Please Don't Pet the Wildlife

A deer just wandered through our backyard. In broad daylight. And it wasn’t even skittish. (Dumb deer.) It just stared in at us and then mosied away. Malia was thrilled that a “big reindeer!” was in our backyard. And now she’s mad at me because I won’t let her put on her ladybug boots and go outside to pet the reindeer.

Who Are the Animals in Your Neighborhood?

Yesterday Matthew peered out at the back yard through the window and declared, “There have definitely been either deer or caribou in the back yard.” I snickered because I really have no idea where he learned about caribou. It’s not like when I was five…

…and lived in the Phillippines…

(My brother, Adam, and I at the market in Bagiuo)

…where seeing caribou…

…was actually likely to happen. There just aren’t that many caribou wandering around in Utah. Deer, yes. Elk, you betcha. Even the occasional skunk wanders into the neighborhood. But no caribou. So I’m left wondering where in the world he learned about caribou. I’m pretty sure that wasn’t on the note his teacher sent home to let the parents know the curriculum they would be covering this week.

The Motion Detecting Sprinkler Seems To Be Working

There has been nary a hoof print nor a bite mark in the last little bit which means that I was finally able to go out and reap a bit of the fruits (or should I say veggies) of our labors.

Of course, I had to send Nathan out to turn off the sprinkler before I went out so I wouldn't get soaked (he didn't mind getting wet since it is so unseasonably warm today) but I can put up with a bit of inconvenience if it means my garden can go unmolested.  Maybe next year I'll invest in a timer so the water will only be on from dusk to dawn.

My Poor, Poor, Sad Garden

This is what is left of my cucumbers after yesterday's hail storm:


The poor things almost got smooshed into oblivion. I don't know if they'll rally or not. The pumpkins are not nearly as pathetic as the cucumbers, but they are still pretty sad. Their tougher stems kept the plants from completely buckling under the assault.


This is all that is left of the lettuce, but it wasn't the hail that did this damage. There really wasn't much left for the hail to smash after the deer got to it.

The deer also ate all the leaves off the top of Matthew's beans. The dumb things are so resilient that they have taken advantage of their leafless stems and started twining together to keep climbing.


The deer also nipped off a couple of my tomato plants. This particular bush was 8-12 inches taller three days ago.


But at least the carrots have managed to survive the week unscathed. Hopefully the hail won't happen again soon and the motion detecting sprinkler we just got will keep the deer from using our garden as a wildlife smorgasbord. It is a bit hard to teach the boys about the benefits of a garden when they never get to harvest anything.

Discriminating Palate

About a week ago Kev asked me if I had cut any of the tulips. I had not and recommended he ask the boys, thinking that they would need a talking to about the sanctity of my flower garden. The boys also responded in the negative so Kev went out to take a closer look and discovered deer prints in my flower bed. The critter nipped the buds off my tulips, but not all of them, just the yellow ones! I'm a bit peeved but since I can't do anything about it, I'll just sit around and sulk and hope Bambi and his pals don't decide to eat the apple trees.