D is for Deer

These five little deer are about 15-20 feet away from our garage doors. They are standing just off our driveway in the front yard. They actually visit on a regular basis. Usually they stop by early evening around 5:30 pm. I'm guessing its the same group - it is always about five of them. Usually they don't get any closer to the house than this - but one time I did see a couple standing on the front porch as we drove up the driveway.

When we first moved into the house we thought we might put out food or a mineral lick out so we could watch the deer from our back porch over our morning coffee. But it seems that the flowers I plant are attraction enough. They seem extremely interested in my perennial hibiscus. The plants are supposed to get about 15 feet tall and 12 feet wide and covered with big blooms. But these deer make a snack out of all the leaves and flower buds as soon as they appear. So I've never seen much more than a bare stick poking out of the ground. So we won't be putting out anything else to encourage them. I can't even count on the dog chasing them away. Sherman, our great protector, will bark at his reflection in the window, but is not at all bothered by the deer in the yard. Even when they are only a few feet away.

I know that this picture isn't the best quality. It was taken through a closed double pane window in our house. It is hard to get any closer to them without them running off.