Ah, yes; one could do worse. One could be a randy buck, bent on leaving his markings, scraping his rack on a river birch.
We have had this problem before. One year, our Harry Lauder Walking Stick locked horns with a stately stag. The stag won. Old Harry Lauder is but a shell of himself these days.
Another year, not long about having its roots firmly set in the soil, a crabapple, commonly referred to here on the Cutoff as Kezzie’s tree, was the object of jousting during the rut. Thankfully, it made it through the first winter and this year is covered in fruit.
It was a pleasant afternoon’s saunter to the mailbox that alerted me to the latest antler attack. The afternoon sun was glowing on the bark of the river birch, and a deep red haze appeared. It looked like blood. Oh dear, thought I, the boys are out and about already, marking their territory, the Don Quixotes of Deerdom.
Tom, aka the antler man, quickly got out the stakes and fencing, protecting his own kingdom of trees.
So it goes, here on the Cutoff, as autumn takes a firm hold and the deer and the antelope play havoc on our wooded domain.
* From “Birches” by Robert Frost
Lifeonthecutoff's Blog 
Dear Penny, yours is the second posting I’ve read today about deer coming to visit. The first is about a trick-or-treat deer! Here’s the URL for a rather delightful episode in the life of a Colorado bloggers: http://sallysbloggingspot.blogspot.com/2013/10/trick-or-treat-or-smashing-pumpkins.html
Peace.
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Loved it, Dee, and sympathized, completely with the story of smashing pumpkins. Thanks for the link. I took some time to wander around a bit on the blog, which is delightful.
Hope you are feeling better today.
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Dear Penny, it’s Monday morning now and I didn’t have a Meniere’s headache all weekend. In fact, it’s been three days. I got niggles of one each day, but took my medication immediately and all was well within a half hour. So I’m feeling–to use that word you like–“hunky-dory”!!!! Peace.
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I’m happy to know that the medication is working for you, Dee, and that you were relatively free from a Meniere’s headache this weekend. It must be such a relief to have it on hand. Hunky-dory! The best way to feel.
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Thanks for stopping by. Glad to meet you. Hope to get to know you better. I’m sorry about your tree. I am going to hang bars of soap in my trees. I read in several places that this keeps the deer away.
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I’m pleased to meet you as well, Sally. I meant to say in my comment to you that we use Liquid Fence as well to deter the deer here; well, really it is my husband Tom who valiantly sprays, and it works pretty well, except when the scent wears off, or the one plant that is missed. Good luck with the bars of soap.
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Do they look for these forked ones?
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Not that I know of, Andra; mostly younger trees that have some give and take.
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Good luck with protecting the trees. After the shock of the neighbours felling so many, you will be wanting to look after every precious tree on your own property. Those deer are certainly a mixed blessing.
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They are a mixed blessing, Juliet. They had so many places to rest in and nibble on, now, even more of their territory has been encroached upon. I scared five up this afternoon, coming around a corner of the house where an apple tree is. They were having a picnic.
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Gosh, I never knew deer antlers could cause such damage, Penny. Here all we have to worry about are sheep getting into the garden and nibbling the flowers. Thanks for the links to other lovely posts from the days before i found your blog.
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They are beautiful creatures, Perpetua, but, they are also quite destructive. The more mature trees can better handle this activity, but, the newer ones are still fragile. I’m glad to had the chance to look at some older posts. As you can see, I’ve been complaining about our “deer” neighbors for some time. You are very welcome.
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Oh, deer.
(Sorry)
We have very similar problems here. A friend who also backs onto the forest had a fabulous garden, which grew her produce all year round – right up until the deer figured out the could jump the impossibly high fence to munch nightly at her expense. Broken hearted, she has sold most of her garden off to builders because there simply did not seem to be any solution. We are pinching ourselves here, because we annot believe that beautiful garden is gone.
It needs gardeners of stern stuff to love the deer but continue to keep them at bay. Gardeners like you and Tom. All the best!
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Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that, Kate, and understand your neighbor’s plight. I know the deer can jump at least 8 feet of fencing. We, ourselves, jumped at the chance to participate in the community garden, which is in a deer-less zone, because we just could not manage one here. Right now, the deer have munched back most of our hosta – and all of my pots, meaning they came right up to the house. Sigh. We are not deterred, though.
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Everyone around here gets excited about a deer rub because it means there is a buck in the area. It is bow season in Illinois. I have such mixed emotions about hunting. I hate the thought of it and could never, never kill one myself, but if someone didn’t do it we would be overrun with them. They can destroy crops and the deer/car accidents are horrid. I guess I just want someone else to do the dirty work. It is part of the culture in Central Illinois and often a bonding and coming of age activity for the youth. I love that kids are doing things with parents and grandparents, but I still couldn’t do it.
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I have the same mixed emotions, Janet, and know I couldn’t do it, either. I do know that if they aren’t thinned out from time-to-time, they are most subject to disease. I’m not fond of venison, but, I know others are, and I’m sure there are many who are hungry that would welcome it. We are hoping this tree will make it through the winter, being a young tree.
As I mentioned above, I scared five this afternoon as I came around the corner. They were pulling apples from the all-but-dead apple tree. I don’t mind them eating the apples – just my bedding plants. Sigh.
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Brilliant post – I love how you’ve worded things all through and the images created really came to life for me. Great title too! Axxx
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Thank you, Annie. I love Frost’s poem, which is where the title is derived from.
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We are such wimps….no real garden in Oregon and we leave before the deer get randy anyway …so we never really experience the downside….. I feel like we take unfair advantage!
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Ha! You get the best of both possible worlds, Sallie. In spite of the damage, I do still love watching our little herd here.
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I really had no idea the bucks were so destructive in their treatment of the trees! You have mentioned the action before, but I thought that was more of a random occurrence than routine. No wonder Tom is Antler Man–he has really had some regular duties in protecting your little forest! I did find today that Darwin had “crashed” through the little boundary I erected to keep him out of the succulents, so I suppose the animal kingdom, in all sizes, presents some obstacles for us, or we’re their obstacles? I want the glory of the deer without the work that seems to come with their presence. I am very glad that Kezzie’s tree is okay!!
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There are many, many times I’ve gone out and found deer damage here, Debra. Tom sprays deer repellent, but, they manage to find things that weren’t sprayed, or take advantage of lapses. Tom has, indeed, been master of the forest here.
That Darwin. Leave it to him to plow through barriers. I think you are right. We are animals’ obstacles. I love to see the deer – then stomp my feet and yell “get outa-my-garden”. They just stare. tee hee
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