A foot or so less than 10 yards outside my good wife's window in the corner of our house are a couple rows of pine trees ... there is about two feet between them so in the winter it makes a perfect shelter. This morning I walked into her study as I often do to see if anything outside was moving around - and nothing was, but inside those pines were 12 deer laying down - really. I had never seen that before, and they were all facing away from out house to the neighbors ... so I got my cereal and banana and went in to watch them. It seemed a little strange that all their attention was centered on our neighbor's house, so I knew something was up, but just what remained a mystery to me ... then a couple of deer got up and bravely approached my neighbors screened in porch - ever vigilant.
With the speed of light they all stood up, never losing their focus, then they took flight ... and out the back door of his screened in porch my neighbor appeared - he was refilling a huge bird feeder near the door. Then I realized the deer were eating the husks of the seeds the birds had dropped. Though this episode failed to inspire the good wife, it was a great start to my day. I have about 20 pounds of cracked corn just sitting in the garage, so tonight before I retire I will spread it
out in my footprints between the window and the pines .... and the first window I peer through in the morning will in the good wife's study.
footnote: This morning on the internet I received my first 'monthly newsletter from the Abraham Lincoln Museum' since I've become a member! Even made a special folder for it Sherm.
Awesome.
ReplyDeleteBTW, you might wish to call your local conservation agent to see if the corn lure is legal. Baiting deer/bears with food is not legal in Missouri, even for photographic purposes, as it accustoms the animals to human provision and alters their natural migration habits. The bird feeder flotsam is different, because one's feeding birds and the deer are just tagging along. Here, you'd get a warning the first time, provided you're not shooting them.
Cheers.
Hey Sherm
ReplyDeleteThere is a law in Michigan against baiting wild life also ..... but I live in the city limits so you can't hunt them anyway. I'm very careful to only put corn out a day or two .... don't want them coming to rely on it and forgo their natural way of feeding.
I used to feed them all winter when I first moved into the area, but my neighbors didn't take to kindly to that ... so I stopped. Hum,
I wonder if my neighbor will downsize his feeder since it draws so many??
We have deer, turkeys and groundhogs that use the trails in the pines on a regular basis ..
its almost like an in-town animal preserve!
I know my neighbor across the street would have a cow if I did something like that. People around here are so irate about deer population explosions that we now have a hunting season for them in our city parks.
ReplyDeleteLike in Missouri, Iowa also has a law against baiting deer with corn but not salt blocks which they also like.
Ed...
ReplyDeletethat's interesting .... 'a salt block, but not corn?'