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They did it again. Under the cover of darkness. Those little stinkers. My plan was to catch them in the act. For days I peeked out the window. Nothing. Rising just before dawn, I carried out my ritual. Nothing. How early would I need to rise to catch these culprits? It was summer in Northern California. Although the temperatures can easily get into the 100’s, we were enjoying a mild summer. The foothills regularly turn golden brown, like wheat, due to the intense sun. The hills begin to turn brown before spring ends. Is that why I enjoy Michigan summers – everything remains green.
We’ve lived in our condo for almost fourteen years and never had any problems until this year. Several years ago we added rose bushes to our backyard. This summer we were caught by surprise. What you might ask, has caught us by surprise? Bambi! Well not really Bambi, but deer, whether buck, doe, or fawn, we cannot tell – they still haven’t been sighted. God’s adorable creatures have been eating our roses for breakfast. They have a variety of roses to pick from - red, yellow, purple and peach. We don’t know when it began. It was my husband who noticed, through close inspection, more was going on than pruning – someone was eating our roses. My husband enjoyed watering and pruning the bushes. I benefit from the fruits of his labor. Frequently I’d sit at the kitchen table to write and enjoy the beauty and fragrance of the roses.
Deer have a preference. Yes, they do. At least ours do. The peach colored rose bushes seemed to satisfy their taste buds best. One evening, I set eyes on a peach bud that would soon bloom. I decided to wait till morning to cut the bud. In the morning, I looked out the window, and the bud was gone. Those brown colored critters got there before I did.
Sharing our story with friends and co-workers - confirmed the obvious. Indeed, deer love roses. Throughout the fall I kept a watchful eye on the roses and for deer sightings. I’ve never caught them. They’ve done their deeds under the cover of darkness or by dawns early light. They have made numerous stops since their first visit. We did some detective work and found additional evidence of their visits - hoof prints in wet dirt. We took pictures to document this evidence for all to see.
A friend recently shared she’d had unexpected guests in her lush flower garden. It appeared as if her landscapers had mowed the flower bed. I wonder what attracts the deer first, the smell or the color? What is the attraction? I can understand bees and their love for flowers, but deer.
It is now December and a peach colored rose is about to bloom. I’ve had my eye on it for days. I wonder who will get to it first: the deer or me. Maybe I’d better end this story and get to that rose post haste. Night time is coming soon, and they might strike again while I’m snug as a bug in my warm bed
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