Welcome to my Zoo
Yesterday on my group blog, Jungle Red Writers, Rosemary Harris posted wonderful pictures of her garden--a stunning three acres of blooming plants. I was green with envy, living on a steep California hillside where not much will grow until I realized that I have what she doesn't have: I have a zoo.
My garden borders the open space above--no fences, just a row of oleanders, and there is rarely a time when there are no animals around. This morning I watched a mama deer and two tiny fawns working their way along the ivy where the gardener had trimmed it back yesterday, leaving good new shoots exposed. It's funny because I'm looking down on them so they don't feel at all threatened. (If I were a mountain lion, I'd hide in a tree and leap down on them!)
I've never seen a mountain lion in our yard, but I know the hill above is their territory and every now and then I have heartache when I see a deer with one baby fawn and know that last week there were twins. We do have coyotes in abundance. I've never seen one on our property but sometimes at night their calls sound so close that I picture them sitting under my bedroom window.
I have seen a fox, however. When my mother was visiting once from Australia we sat on the patio with a glass of wine her first evening here. While we were sitting some deer poked their heads over the patio fence. A fox ran along the top of the fence. And a snake slithered out from between pots. "It's like living in a bloody zoo," my mother commented.
And I suppose it is. I know we have skunks because my daughter's dog got sprayed by one the day before her wedding (and future son in law and I stood in the bathtub trying to cover the frightened dog in tomato juice. He kept shaking until the bathroom looked like Pyscho! And we have racoons too. We hear them fighting and growling sometimes after dark. And there is a Red Tailed Hawks nest in the tree below us. A group of birders showed up on my doorstep once, asking to observe from my balcony. I took them through and was quite happy to let them look through their binoculars until I found out they wanted to set up a permanent observation platform there.... uh, I don't think so.
So we have admitted defeat in trying to create a beautiful garden. We grow what they won't eat and enjoy watching the animals instead. How about you--any suggestions for keeping deer at bay?
My garden borders the open space above--no fences, just a row of oleanders, and there is rarely a time when there are no animals around. This morning I watched a mama deer and two tiny fawns working their way along the ivy where the gardener had trimmed it back yesterday, leaving good new shoots exposed. It's funny because I'm looking down on them so they don't feel at all threatened. (If I were a mountain lion, I'd hide in a tree and leap down on them!)
I've never seen a mountain lion in our yard, but I know the hill above is their territory and every now and then I have heartache when I see a deer with one baby fawn and know that last week there were twins. We do have coyotes in abundance. I've never seen one on our property but sometimes at night their calls sound so close that I picture them sitting under my bedroom window.
I have seen a fox, however. When my mother was visiting once from Australia we sat on the patio with a glass of wine her first evening here. While we were sitting some deer poked their heads over the patio fence. A fox ran along the top of the fence. And a snake slithered out from between pots. "It's like living in a bloody zoo," my mother commented.
And I suppose it is. I know we have skunks because my daughter's dog got sprayed by one the day before her wedding (and future son in law and I stood in the bathtub trying to cover the frightened dog in tomato juice. He kept shaking until the bathroom looked like Pyscho! And we have racoons too. We hear them fighting and growling sometimes after dark. And there is a Red Tailed Hawks nest in the tree below us. A group of birders showed up on my doorstep once, asking to observe from my balcony. I took them through and was quite happy to let them look through their binoculars until I found out they wanted to set up a permanent observation platform there.... uh, I don't think so.
So we have admitted defeat in trying to create a beautiful garden. We grow what they won't eat and enjoy watching the animals instead. How about you--any suggestions for keeping deer at bay?
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message 1:
by
Angela
(new)
Jul 03, 2012 01:57PM
My home isn't in a wild area--just a couple of blocks from a mall, in fact--but we have deer, coyotes, fox, raccoons, woodchucks, geese, owls, snakes, and lots of bunnies and squirrels. A recent herd that ran through our yard included a white deer, but I haven't seen him since. We put fencing around our tomato plants so the deer can eat only the tops. Because of the natural pruning, we usually get lots of tomatoes. This morning my husband found a green tomato that had deer teeth marks on it, like the deer hadn't liked the taste. I've heard that urine will keep the deer away, but not sure I want tomatoes that badly. : - )
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