Today I was looking forward to wandering around spraying the Mosquito Barrier because I wanted to locate all the Sow thistle, so I can harvest it! I boiled some yesterday and it was tasty! I plan on frying in garlic and adding goat cheese. I found a few but I also noticed many were missing leaves. And some were red stems, stripped clean! I only found one other tall one, most were a foot or so high. Then, I saw behind the house where the huge blue hostas hide out, someone has been nibbling! Fortunately, I can share but I surprised the dogs allow this, unless they are fattening the deer up!
Oh, Droopy! You have no idea how tempted I am. to do that! I miss venison, my dad was a pretty great hunter, we had venison all the time but it was nothing compared to these southern, corn-fed deer! Also, Dad liked to hunt for trophy deer, he got his picture in a magazine for his 20 point deer but they are tougher these northern deer, more like shoe leather! I didn't mind but southern deer are a real delicacy! Short of getting a hunting license and hunting myself, I am looking for a venison hating hunter to gift me a bunch of venison. Richard hunting is like OMG, I can't even imagine! He's an accident waiting to happen! I just know one of us is getting a Darwin Award!
Best befriend a hunter fast. Mother's pestered by roe deer, but unfortunately they can't be hunted because of all the homes in the vicinity. The red deer keep more to themselves in the woods, but used to be around before all the new homes were built. They're pretty animals, but you don't want to share everything in your garden.
As my grandfather would say, "If you don't do, learn to do without!" No one we know can manage to get a deer during the season. I can't comment since I choose not to hunt. We were the only house on the street safe from the deer for four years but I think the deer now know the wolvey-looking beasts are trapped and can't get them! Yesterday morning I saw all four dogs sitting in a row facing the back fence and on the other side, 2 deer standing a watching the dogs. It was a stand off. I know my dogs well enough to know only one was calm. Lulu was smiling, the others had their head lowered and shoulders tense... if they ever figure out that they are capable of jumping a 6 foot fence those deer are in trouble! Siberians wil jump anything under 5 feet and people have seen them jump 6 feet but most won't try a six foot fence (whew!) I saw all four of them work as a team to kill an 8 foot black snake. It was so primal and amazing, there is a lot of memory encoded on that DNA! I tried to save the snake but I wasn't fast enough. They seem to know the black snake was non-poisonous. We had a timber rattlesnake in the yard last year and they stayed outside a 10 foot circle but barking like crazy. We had to each grab 2 dogs and back away. The snake left then. We never saw him again, but I wear boots and keep my eyes open! There is so much beauty in nature and it's many relationships! I love it, can't imagine hating anything. But I am not succeeding with yellow jackets LOL
Maybe you're better off NOT letting the dogs out to scare the deer off. I totally agree on the yellow jackets!
