Oh Deer
The serene, gated city park of Weaverville provides a secure haven for the deer.
Here, a 2-year-old buck roams freely.
It's about 10:30 am -
The tranquil morning sun peeks through the tree branches, casting dappled patterns on the soft, green grass of the park. Not a soul in sight, providing the perfect opportunity to indulge in a leisurely feast without any interruptions.
On the left-hand side, there is a smaller deer, around one year old, with a unique feature—a bent antler that curves downward. This piqued my curiosity, and I began to wonder what might have caused this unusual characteristic.
It's possible that the antler was damaged during the velvet stage of its growth, leading to this distinctive curve.
As I observed this little sweetie closer, I noticed that its left antler exhibited a slight deformity. However, I found solace in the fact that it would shed this antler and grow a new set, as it does every year.
Do you get Deer in your yards?
Do they eat all your flowers?
In our neighborhood, I've never come across a deer strolling around. We've had sightings of mountain lions at night on our neighbors' Ring cameras, and that might explain why we don't see any deer. Every now and then, we might spot a bear, but deer sightings for the 16 years I have been here, are quite rare.
They were completely indifferent, leisurely grazing on the lush green grass, seemingly aware that their safety was assured, beyond our reach.
Whenever we stroll past this park, the deer are always there - especially in the morning and evening hours, unless there is a lot of human activity in the park.
As I walked past this house, I caught sight of a family of deer—a male, a female, and an adorable little one. They seemed to be feasting on the potted plants in the backyard. They were a bit skittish, probably because they had been chased away on numerous occasions, and thought I would shoo them away, too.
Do you think that is why all the town's potted plants
are hung up high?
Baskets filled with colorful flowers swayed gently in the breeze, strategically positioned along the street to dissuade hungry deer from feasting on the vibrant blooms.
Debby
Yes, I've had deer in my yard, and have come right up to my porch area! It's amazing to see, but they don't stay long at all. It is always a magical moment when I see deer come around the neighborhood, and I've seen them quite often jumping my neighbor's fence, telling me that there is something that they like back there. Sadly, I saw a deer on the side of the highway today, and it upset me. They cross from one side of the woods to the other, and one didn't make it. I've never heard of this park before in Weaverville. And that's a neat Blacksmith building. These are wonderful photos of the deer, Debby. They made my heart smile. : )
ReplyDelete~Sheri
It upsets me as well so see the dead deer or any animal for that matter. Last weekend up by Lakehead off I5, a bear was hit by a vehicle.So sad.
DeleteTheir little city park is right on 299 in the middle of town.
Definitely keep the potted plants/flowers out of the deer's reach, but they can stretch their necks pretty high! When we lived in our last house in the Ocala National Forest, we had deer in our yard all the time, and saw them alongside the roads frequently. Especially at night, which is dangerous because they run right into the headlights of cars. We also had bears, coyotes, foxes, raccoons, and bobcats. Here where we are now we haven't had deer in our yard. We live in a more inhabited neighborhood. I miss seeing the deer. Sometimes we see one where we like to take our walks, but lately all we've seen are their footprints, but never the deer. I miss them. But yes, they can be a nuisance if you try to plant a garden!
ReplyDeleteOne time we had taken a day trip to Virginia City Nevada and was driving home at night in the mountains and deer were everywhere. It was a stressful drive home due to them on the roadway and of course we don’t want to hit them.
DeleteI do hope that the deer with the deformed antler can loose that and gain an antler that is straight and true.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
I’m sure it will be fine. The antlers fall off every year and they get brand new antlers!
DeleteWe have hanging plants exactly like this in our downtown!! We do have a lot of deer, and quite a few are hit by cars. I have never seen any in the yards of homes eating their plants though! You must live further in the country than we do!
ReplyDeleteWeaverville is about an hour from us and is in the Trinity Alps so yes, deer are plenty there.
DeleteHow cute the deer are. We just saw a doe with her two tiny babies, on our drive home from Mylee's volleyball game. You really captured some good photos of them. And the grass is so green. That is a very nice Buck. We live in town, but at the farm, which is about 5 miles from us, we see many deer. I love watching them. Oh wow...I would be scared to think Mountain lions were near by. I'm pretty sure that if the pots of flowers were lower, they would be eaten by the deer. Deer love the tender petals of flowers.
ReplyDeleteWe just can’t let our cat out at night. Lost beloved 2 cats to coyotes. The mountain lions are spotted now and then but all the time we’ve lived here we’ve not had any incidents.
ReplyDeleteNo deet where I live in the city. I last saw them when I was in Yosemite. It has been hot here, 108 today. My grandpa used to make beautiful hanging baskets. I hope your weather is cooler than ours.
ReplyDeleteNo, we are a few degrees cooler, thank God. 104 yesterday and today. But I'm hearing we'll cool down to the 90s next week.
DeleteDeer are destructive to gardens. We get a lot of deer, turkey, coyote, even lost or abandoned peacock's here in the country. They're all around us. Even had a stray cow awhile back. The Sheriff's office is holding it in the stockyard trying to find the owners. I think it was abandoned, though, and will be sold soon. Never a dull moment, right?! *lol* Have a great day. 💙
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DeleteI still think they are so pretty and gentle.
In my subdivision, we don't have any wandering cows, but at the location of my bible study, which is situated in a rural area, there was an amusing incident a few years ago. A bull and a few cows strayed into the parking lot, causing a bit of a commotion. We had to stay indoors until they were all rounded up. It was quite an unusual experience, especially considering it's not something you'd expect to encounter in the Bay Area!
Destructive or not, I'd be beyond delighted to spot a deer in my yard. The sight of them alone makes my heart smile. The only wildlife that visit regularly are opossums, armadillos and squirrels. The latter probably get away with anything because they're so darn cute.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on that. They're so gentle. I once encountered an armadillo in the wild at a roadside rest area in Arizona. They are truly unique creatures.
DeleteWe see deer in our yard on an almost daily basis, Debby. Ours is a mostly wooded neighborhood, so because of the shade, we can't garden here anyway. Yes, the deer will eat anything they can find that's edible for them!
ReplyDeleteBlessings!
That's nice you get to see them regularly- I sure wouldn't mind.
DeleteI'm sure that shade keeps you cooler in the summer. I could use more shade in my yards.
I always love seeing deer out and about. One of the reasons we always made a trip up to Shasta dam in the evening when staying in Redding. We did have a deer wander by our camp spot on the last evening I was there. Most of the other campers were gone so I guess it felt safe wandering in.
ReplyDeleteWhen we camp at Black Butte reservoir we always see deer in the evenings. I think they know they are safe there.
I have yet to go up to Shasta Dam in the evening this summer. We'll have to do that soon. It's always fun to see a deer wander through your campsite.
DeleteHow wonderful to be able to see them. We do not see deer at our house. My daughter in Montana, in her neighborhood, will get herds coming through in the middle of the night.
ReplyDeleteWow, herds - they must be a sight!
DeleteNo deer's around here and no kangaroos either, just birds
ReplyDeleteNow kangaroos would be cool.
DeleteI love watching the deer. Yes, we have deer on our property just about every day. They sleep along the natural fences I've made. We can go outside and they look at us and don't run away anymore. We live in the woods and I don't have many flowers.
ReplyDeleteThat's like my doves - they know us and don't fly away when we are outside.
DeleteWe use to have deer across the street from us eating apples from the tree, but the neighbor cut it down now. My mom has them in her backyard daily and even has twin fawns to see. Janice
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