Oh Deer! When Will It Be My Thyme In The Garden?

The thick layer of snow in the garden is finally beginning to recede.  It's moving a little like a glacier, but faster thank goodness.  We never got a cage on my tree peony last fall.  When the snow uncovered it, the deer gave it a hard trim. It  happened before in 2008.  I have never been sure if or how to cut it back.  This year that decision has been made for me.  Either way what's done is done!

These two deer  have spent their time close to the house and garden since last summer when they were beautiful spotted fawns.  Apparently their Mom is smarter than average and knows a safe spot when she finds one. We see the three of them often.  I spotted these two nibbling on the magnolia bush.  I said, " Please leave the magnolia alone, we won't have any flowers.  Come over and trim the thyme instead."  Yes, I talk to the deer, but imagine my surprise when they did exactly what I suggested.

There she is looking at me with that doe-eyed look and my red creeping thyme dangling from her mouth.  Mother Nature has been hard on us and them this year. The deer are so hungry that they are eating plants that they usually ignore!  I guess I can wait for my thyme in the garden.  We have a temporary truce as long as they leave the magnolia alone and stay out of my shade garden.  I will be watching, ready to speak sharply to them when necessary. I save Ed for back-up!

No Hunting Necessary

In this part of New York today is the day that  large numbers of the population are out there hunting for the elusive deer.  It all seems so unnecessary.   Certainly  we don't have to hunt for them here.  This one was right outside my kitchen window.
 

Rare is the morning that I don't see  deer  in the garden pruning my plants and leaving footprints everywhere.  This plant  grows in my shade garden.  I never thought that the deer would jump up to get into that raised bed, but they do and they are very slow to leave when I yell at them from the bedroom window.  They simply feel at home here and are not impressed or intimidated by me.

The deer seemed to think that my Gloriosa daisies  needed to be cut back.  I don't know if I agree, but the year the deer horrified me by eating my tree peony turned out to be the year that the plant had more flowers than ever before.  Maybe they know what they are doing!

Plants that we do not want the deer to walk on or eat have to be well protected.  This cage protects the fringed polygalas from  the deer's munching.

Without the cage the plants look like this.  I just know that deer would make short work of these wildflowers that I treasure so much.  So my wild flowers live in a cage for their own good.  They might make it out in the woods where you have to hunt for deer, but not here.  This morning I counted 6 deer in the garden.  No doubt as hunting season progresses, there will be even more.  I think they know they are safe so close to the house and they like the buffet!

Window With A View

Last week my sister was visiting here.  She spent considerable time "watching the mountain" out the living room window.  This is something she used to do when she lived in West Virginia.   Many people would laugh at the idea that the ridge behind the garden could be considered a mountain, but the truth is if I had to climb it, the ridge might as well be Everest. 

 I secretly hoped that the young  coyotes would make an appearance for her.  I thought about luring them in with a cage covered with shade cloth knowing that it is their very favorite toy, but I decided against it.  There's no point in inviting trouble.   While she was here birds and the neighbor's cat were the only visitors we noticed, but it's still a fabulous view.  This week there's been more activity.  Every morning I have to  wind open the window to yell at the half a dozen or so deer that come walking down the path.  With the rain and the cooler weather the trees are increasing the color on the hill a little more every day.  Just in case she misses the view, this is for her.

It is definitely fall in the garden, but we still have flowers to add even more color to the changing leaves.  Ed's chrysanthemums and asters are bright spots. The Nicotiana that I let come up all over  still add their evening scent and  reflect the moonlight if the sky clears.   Clouds and rain seem to be the weather we are getting.

When  it's not actively raining,  I'm still making trips to the garden to pick lettuce, green beans, mint, parsley, carrots and strawberries.  It seems like no matter where I go in the garden, every time I come back in the house I have to pick the seeds of Chinese forget-me-nots off my pants, socks and shoes.  They give me something to do while I watch the rain on the  mountain!  

April Fool's Day Is for the Birds!

Having been promised the cruel joke of seven inches of snow made this chilly rainy day seem quite acceptable. Ed took the opportunity to finish the income taxes. We decided to take the truck, and to go on the shortcut to the post office. This shortcut consists of a dirt road through a cornfield surrounded by wetlands. Timing is crucial. First this road is icy, and then muddy and rutted. Then it reaches the wet, but passable stage before it goes to dusty and dry. Today the conditions were perfect. I had actually remembered to bring my binoculars and boy was I happy that I did!

We saw several pairs of Canada geese. I love these birds, but they have become commonplace here. That is not the case with the pair of wood ducks we spotted. Unmistakable, this pair of ducks was a real treat to see. The male is really wild! Natural design can be truly amazing! Already thrilled , the next pair of ducks we spotted was a pair of hooded mergansers. The female has a cool crest, but the male's black and white crest is stunning. I thought he had his crest up since his head seemed quite large, but as I saw in the bird book when I returned home ,he was not even close to the display he is capable of. She's a really lucky duck.

A pair of common mergansers were also on the water. They were a little far away to get a great look , but I'm pretty sure of my identification . Last but not least we spotted a belted kingfisher in a tree. We watched as he dove into the water with incredible speed and then returned to the tree branch. Crested and dressed in gray feathers that resemble a tuxedo with tails, this bird was a sight to behold. The trip was so much fun, the fact that we were mailing our taxes hardly made a ripple in our excitement.

Later in the evening 7 members of the local deer herd stopped by the garden for a snack. I managed to move them along by shouting at them out the living room window. Not impressed by me, they didn't go far. I'm sure they came back after dark. Considering it was too wet to really spend time outside, we certainly had an exciting wildlife day and that's no joke!

PS.If you are interested in these ducks go to Nature Tales and Camera Trails and use the search box. Ann's photographs are magnificent right down to the baby wood ducks!

Rainy Day Cheer

We have been getting steady , sometimes heavy rain for a couple of days. The garden loves the water, but it changes our outdoor activity. This morning we watched as a the usual parade wandered by the garden. First the doe and her fawn came by and disappeared up Ed's path to the high meadow. It's been fun to watch that fawn grow bigger and braver. He wandeers away from mom more and more.

The family of turkeys spend a lot of time working the grass around the garden. Still two hens and 3 babies, the little family group seems to have settled in right in this area. It was especially interesting to watch when the doe and fawn returned to the lawn while the turkeys were still there. They didn't seem to be intimidated by each other, but at the same time it seemed like the party had become too crowded. First the deer left our sight and soon the turkeys were gone too.

The sunflower and bee picture is a couple of days old, taken before the rains came. Bees are fair weather pollinators. These two really have those pollen bags packed. Today the weather could go either way. The cloud cover is thick. I don't see the patch of blue sky big enough to make a pair of trousers that my grandmother said was necessary for the weather to clear. Either outcome will be good for the garden and there is plenty for us to do as well.

Oh My ! Was That A Baltimore Oriole?

It rained on and off yesterday and the wildlife took advantage of the fact that the garden was deserted. I watched from in the house as a doe and her fawn strolled by. Obviously the garden is a place they like to check out when no one is home. Later when there was a lull in the rain, I took out the compost, and three fox kits streaked from the garden for cover in the woods. I wish I had seen them from the window. I would have enjoyed watching them. In the evening a large skunk wanders about in the garden. I suspect the hornet nest over by the patio disappeared because of him. Bon appetit! With all this wildlife around it might seem curious that a pair of Baltimore orioles could cause such a commotion here. They are such beautiful birds. Who wouldn't want to see them in the garden? The trumpet vine is a hint.





Because last year we caged and netted the lilies and nothing happened, we forgot about the orioles. As soon as we spotted that gorgeous flash of black and orange, we remembered.It was the year before that the real carnage happened. Ed and I worked yesterday to put the lilies in the protective custody of cages and bird netting. The trumpet vine will have to endure. Thank goodness we saw that gorgeous pair of birds in time!

Late Winter Surprise

Finally a day fit for an outside walk. Overnight the temperature fell into the low teens covering the car with frost. By early afternoon the thermometer registered in the forties. Outside was the only place to be. I followed a deer trail up the south side of the gravel bank hill. Walking the deer trail allows one to miss most of the blackberry cane scratches. This deer skeleton was next to the trail at the top of the hill. Since the antlers are still attached, this deer went down in the fall. There are two likely causes of death. Bucks fight each other for the favor of the does. A horn wound to the side is possible. An incompletely skilled hunter could also have caused this death. We do not hunt but we do allow one hunter to thin the herd. Many hunt on land adjacent to ours.

In any event the deer became food for many creatures. Only bones and scraps of fur remain. The air is tinged with the smell of death. This was an eight point buck. I have found two other buck skulls over the years. All of these skulls were from bucks with eight points. Does that coincidence measure the fertility of the area? Available forage will support the development of average sized bucks but is it insufficient to grow trophy deer? The deep glacial gravel at or just below the surface supports scraggly plant growth.