Deer, Deer, ME: A Conundrum

deer
Originally uploaded by Randuwa

Or is it?

For years now I have intentionally worked at creating a yard that was natural. Overall, I have planted perennials to reduce my efforts and have allowed them to invade spaces as the available light, moister, and nutrients beckoned them on. I have also allowed "volunteer" trees to take root and grow: to that end, I have juvenile Dogwoods, White Oaks, Northern Red Oaks, Red Buds, and even Sugar Maples now reaching for the sun at 6 to 16 feet around the postage stamp-sized range that really is my backyard.

So how can I be surprised when animals join the mix?

It's about 5:45 PM, and from my upstairs bathroom window, I have just taken this photo of a deer. She's both beautiful and quite pregnant. And for the last week or so she's been very interested in eating plants in my backyard. And believe me, there are plants in my backyard that I would love to have her consume, however, most of her preferences don't include them. She's eaten my impatiens; she's topped the flowers from my Phlox and my Primrose. She's munched on my Hosta, my Geraniums, even my Christmas Cactus. And my tropical plants? They are her exotic palate's favorites! She's consumed hundreds of dollars of potted plants and annuals! And until I met her, I hated her with a passion.

And now?

Now, I'm just conflicted every which way but loose!

She's pregnant. She's living in a strange world -- i.e. not the one her ancestors freely inhabited. So she's a refugee. She's got her instincts, but not a clear vocabulary for negotiating her world. She does what she needs to to survive, and my gardens are not being violated maliciously. They are simply a gift to her, whether I offer them or not. If I begrudge her the opportunity to treat herself to my largess: it's more a statement of my humanity than hers. And all of these mental machinations are moot in her mind's innocent eye.

But what is it in my mind?

Is this just an opportunity to protect my "land"? A chance to exert my authority over nature?

Or, a celebration of my success at blurring the limits between the forest and my home? A creation of a haven for wild animals within the boundaries of suburbia?

I really don't have an answer yet. But I really do think she is beautiful.

And I've seen enough dead deer along the roads around Washington, D. C. to know both the difference and the odds of her survival without a haven.

Like a French movie, this post just ends....