Thyme For Breakfast

Once again the garden is covered with snow.   So far there aren't even many deer tracks with  one exception.   Here you see red creeping thyme peeking out of the snow on the stone patio at the west end of the house.   The white stripe up the left side of the photo is the house so you can see it is right next to the house.  In  the upper right  corner of the picture you can see dirt.  What's up with that?

Clearly the deer had a meeting and decided to have thyme for breakfast.  The only deer  tracks  I can see lead directly  from the Norway spruce to my thyme covered patio.

The thyme changes color in the cold, but it remains fragrant and tasty all winter.  Since it has been warm and wet, the saturated dirt made it possible for the deer to rip up the plants and munch on them roots and all.

Only this tiny piece was left behind on top of the snow.  From clues left behind I think I recognize the morning munchers.  I caught  them the act a couple of winters ago.  I hope they have lunch and dinner plans elsewhere!

Conflict

This weekend really marks the beginning of deer season here. Bow season has been going on, but that's quiet whereas gun season starts with a BANG! Hunters are serious about it here. In years past, before someone got smart enough to start the season on Saturday, students skipped school, teachers, factory workers, executives... took the day off to be out there on the first day of hunting season . Some men stop shaving, vowing to wear a beard until they get that buck.

There are good reasons for lowering the deer population. Both my husband and my daughter have hit a deer with their car. It's a common occurrence, and it causes injuries and incredible expense . Lyme disease is another consideration. The damage deer do to crops and garden plants is both infuriating and expensive. In this area families actually depend on the venison that hunting supplies. Provisions have been made so that the meat can be donated to food pantries in the area. I thought I had come to accept deer hunting as a good thing.

But this morning as I drank my coffee gazing out the window at the scene you see here, a magnificent buck and doe bounded across the ridge into my sight. They were panic stricken and terrified, unsure where to go to escape their tormentors. It was hard to watch. They soon ran off in the direction of the neighbor's farm. So I remain conflicted about the deer. On the one hand I see them as beautiful wild animals who deserve to be left alone. On the other I see the problems they cause.

After the first few days the number of hunters in the woods drops dramatically. For now, work done outside in the garden will be done close to the house dressed in fluorescent orange "I am not a deer" clothing. It's not so safe to venture far afield. As infuriated as I get when they eat my favorite plants, I have to admit that in November I still side with the deer. Perhaps I always will.