First deer I've seen on our property all year!

I love watching them, too. I just want them to stay away from my fruit trees and garden! LOL We're slowly building barricades wherever they've been getting into the part of our property where I'm growing stuff but they can still wander around the rest of our property. We have deer crossing signs, too, but they still get hit occasionally. I hit a deer that ran out of the pitch black and didn't see it until it was rolling over my windshield. I was terrified at first because I thought it was a human wearing a brown coat! I was also only moving at about 30 miles per hour, not fast at all. This deer just flew out from between two houses and right into the road. The very next week, someone else hit a deer at that same spot. After that, a deer crossing sign was put up there. I'm sure that, for people who have grown up in the country, seeing deer is no big thing but I grew up in the city so I'm still amazed whenever I see these beautiful creatures.

They are very beautiful and very graceful creatures but they can be SO destructive! Still, I love watching them, as long as they aren't nibbling away on one of my fruit trees!

ooops, sorry I forgot. No they never have damaged anything. I have apple trees out back. I do throw out breads, carrots, apples, the last of the lettuce head with some lettuce of course, and other things for them, the possum, rabbits, and anything else that might be out there.

LOL, I know what you mean. I use to have a garden when I was able to work one and the rabbits, squirrels, possums, ducks, horses (when one or more got out), and raccoons would get into it. I too love watching the babies play. They are adorable. I also watch the others graze and many times I talk to the critters, no matter which ones it is. I totally love animals. They are so special to me.

Those are the two times that deer wander around the most. It's those times that are especially dangerous for drivers and they should always be more cautious at dusk or dawn. This one was out in the middle of the day which made it so surprising. She was a young gal, probably just lost her spots, because she wasn't big at all. I LOVE seeing the babies! They are always so sweet, trotting after Momma and playing. I saw a pair of twins once and almost couldn't drive after that. It was just so sweet and got to me so much that I was awestricken for awhile. I love nature in all forms, especially the wildlife and especially when they are so beautiful and graceful. We get many, many different kinds of critters around here, too. I wouldn't mind any of them staying around permanently, as long as my crops are protected from them! I grow enough veggies each year, usually, and have more than enough to share with the wildlife, as long as they give me the chance to harvest them first and put them FAR away from my garden for them to munch on.

If I were rich, I might've wanted to live just far enough out to have horses, but I'm not, so I'd just as soon live in town, so my commute isn't as long. I personally liked living 10 minutes from mom & work (20 on a really bad traffic day.)

We live on a lake but I've only seen one deer drinking from it. There are flood drains that keep the lake from flooding during heavy rains so, on the other side of the road that runs through our property, they're often down there, drinking from the small stream created from the flood drains. I'm sure there are more deer that stay over on that side of our property but don't come up to the road. Even so, that road is a private road with a speed limit of 10 miles per hour so there's no chance that they will get hit by a car, at least not here. Maybe I should plant a peach tree on the other side of the road! Since they love mine, and loved yours, they apparently love peach trees so I should give them what they love so much! I just don't want them eating the trees I planted on this side of the road. I'm hoping to actually get some peaches from them one of these years. lol

have they gotten into your garden yet they enjoyed my garden to its a good thing I dont mind sharing

Wow! You were lucky. When deer run with us, or after us, it's because they don't want you there, usually during rutting (breeding) season. I'm glad you were safe! Deer aren't any bigger than most humans but, as a 9 year old child, I'm sure that deer was larger than you and probably seemed even larger than it was. But, they usually just run if they hear you even if they don't see you. They're very skittish, except during breeding season.

That is why I was afraid that time, god! he's bigger than me!

No, it's not a ranch. We own three and a half acres of land in the mountains. About one and a half are wooded, the rest is open. It's the open part where I'm planting my fruit trees and berry bushes. I'm in the process of fencing that area in so the deer can't get to my plants but can still wander around the property. I LOVE watching them! They really are such beautiful creatures! I just want them, and all the other wildlife, to keep away from my fruits, berries and vegetables! We also have groundhogs, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, skunks, opossums, geese, ducks and every now and then I see a turtle or frog wandering around. We have a LOT of frogs near the lake but every once in a while I find a tree frog in the front yard. I LOVE it here! I'll be much happier, though, as soon as all my edible plants are protected from these critters! I've already blocked off the most accessible spots where I noticed them getting in so there haven't been too many getting in to eat my vegetables, fruits or berries lately. I'm so glad!!! With the weather being so rainy, I'm losing enough to rain; I don't need critter damage on top of it! This is my dream home. It's what I've wanted my entire life, since I was a little girl. It took me 55 years to finally get here and I hope I never have to leave. If you ever visit this way, please let me know because I'd love to have you stay here! It's so very peaceful and relaxing.

Haha! No thanks! We have enough of our own around here! Opossums, skunks, voles, mice, chipmunks, raccoons, squirrels, rabbits, geese and ducks, along with the deer. I'm building barricades around the area where I grow my fruit trees, berry bushes and veggies. We put up a section at a time and I have flowering vines growing up and around the wire mesh, mostly to hide what's behind them but also to make them look like a living fence instead of something manmade. Supposedly, deer don't want what they can't see, so I'm hoping that my living fence will force them to look elsewhere for their goodies. But, we have about 2 acres that I want to fence in so it may take awhile. We can't afford to do the entire thing at once so we're doing the most used accesses first. As for the smaller critters, they'll manage to get in no matter what. My vegetables are protected by fencing that goes underground about a foot. I have 1/4" wire mesh underground a foot and about a foot above ground to keep the burrowing critters out, the smaller ones like voles and mice. The chicken wire works for the larger critters. Still, I spray my trees, bushes and veggies with a pepper spray I make from half hot sauce and half water or from boiled habanero peppers. One taste of that and they'll stay away! I heard that deer will eat absolutely everything if they're hungry enough, although a lot of plants claim to be deer resistant. I'm glad you told me, though! I have a lot of hostas and bleeding hearts out front (where it's mostly shaded) so I'm going to start including them in the pepper spray-a-thon that takes place after almost every rain! Try the hot pepper spray... it works!

I was going to say that I'm very surprised that you don't get any deer, with all the woods you have there but, once you mentioned the railroad, I understood. They would be scared away from that noise, for sure. This deer saw me move the curtain to get a good photo of her from about 40 feet away, whipped her head around and just froze! I had to remain perfectly still until she resumed her munching away. It's not just their hearing that's good... they must have exceptional eyesight, too! I'd LOVE to ship some down to you! Even though I've only seen one this year, that doesn't mean they won't be back. Maybe it's just been too rainy or something and they're hanging out somewhere else. They usually meander around our property on the other side of the road, where the flood drains empty from the lake. Normally, it's a little stream but lately it's been a veritable raging river! That could be one reason I haven't seen many, I don't know. Time will tell, I suppose.

We live on a lake and have all those things, too, including turtles. It gets so loud around dusk with the frogs and toads croaking! There are flood pipes that lead from the lake, under the private road to the other side, which is lower ground and there is always a small stream there, unless it rains and turns into a raging river! I've seen tadpoles in that stream. It takes me back to when I was a little girl, going to a stream near our house and catching tadpoles and bringing them home. I now understand why my parents were always upset when I'd bring them home! LOL They'd quickly turn into frogs! Sadly, I always had to let them go back at the stream. But, there was always a fresh supply of new tadpoles to be had! I've seen just about everything out there around here, except bears. I've heard that an occasional black bear can be seen around here but I haven't seen any, yet. I hope I never do! I have a cousin who lives in higher mountains in Pennsylvania and she has trouble with black bears destroying her bird feeders. I'm very thankful that I haven't had to deal with them! I hope I never do!

Thank you, koalatbs. I'm very thankful now that my husband bought me the terrific digital camera that he did for Christmas. I was kind of angry with him then for spending the money because he had just gotten laid off from work 2 weeks earlier, but he may have bought it before then. I had a nice camera but, because of the business I'm trying to get started, he thought I could use a GREAT camera. I'm glad he bought it now because it has a spectacular zoom feature on it. That deer was about 40 feet away from the window where I took it's picture from. It wouldn't have turned out nearly as nice if I hadn't had such a great zoom feature. So, I can thank my husband for that awesome Christmas present. I love watching the deer, as long as they're nowhere near my fruit trees or veggie garden! I was surprised once because a deer was wandering up the road and I went out on the deck to watch it and it didn't rush off into the woods. It looked at me, then just kept meandering up the road. Maybe it was because I was so far away, maybe 100 feet or more, I don't know. All I know is that I got to watch it until it went back into the woods. They're such peaceful and graceful creatures!

We moved here in May 2007 and I saw quite a lot of deers that first year. Last year, I saw maybe a dozen the whole year. This year, this is the first deer I've seen. Maybe they're moving higher into the mountains. I love watching them. They have such sweet temperaments and are so graceful. BUT, they do love young fruit trees! They almost destroyed my peach tree by eating all the leaves and young branches on it. It's still alive, but barely. I've been told that black bears can be seen occasionally around here but I haven't seen any, yet. We get skunks, raccoons, opossums, chipmunks, rabbits, squirrels, groundhogs, geese, ducks and occasional turtles and frogs. It's almost like we live in a wildlife sanctuary! LOL We actually had another visitor after the deer today. Our neighbors were fishing on our property this morning which happens to be the best place to fish from our lake, also because these neighbors don't live on the lake and we like to be neighborly and let any of the neighbors fish from our property. They have an OLD basset hound dog and, before we noticed them fishing down at the lake, the dog came wandering up our driveway. I went outside to see if it had a name tag or anything to know where it lives, but there was nothing. She was an awfully sweet dog, even though she was very fat and very old. She came right over to me, flopped down and rolled over so I would scratch her tummy. LOL Anyway, I heard her "daddy" calling for her so, with a LOT of urging from me, I finally made her go back where she belonged. She kept stopping every few feet and rolling over for me to scratch her tummy again. LOL We've had quite a few stray animals find there way here. The two dogs that have showed up belonged to neighbors but we've had a few cats that were obviously lost or abandoned. We kept one but the others I took to an animal shelter, one that doesn't euthanize animals. There's always something happening around here!

They are very skittish animals! The one I took the photos of saw me move the curtains to take it's picture and whipped her head around so fast I thought it would break off! I had to remain motionless before she would resume eating. Also, the pictures I took with the zoom feature on my camera. She was actually about 40 feet away from that window, but she saw that curtain move! I've had to stop, too, and wait for the "family" to all get across the road before. One did collide with my car once and I was only moving at around 30 miles per hour! It came out of the pitch black and I first saw it as it was rolling up and over my car. It damaged my windshield, hood, grill, left quarter panel and left headlight. They sure can cause some damage! I think all roads should have "deer barriers" with gates every so often so people can cross the roads but I suppose that would be too expensive to install. The best thing we can do to prevent damage to our cars is to have those bars installed across the front and hope for the best! I'm terrified of hitting another dear. Once you hit one, you think they're everywhere! Well, I do, anyway.

If you've seen one, you'll see more. I've noticed that they never seem to be anywhere around if I'm looking for one, though. It's only when I'm doing something else that they come around. We saw a LOT of deer on our property when we first bought it, 2 years ago. Maybe it's the human scent that keeps them away, because I often walk around our property (three and a half acres). I know that I'm outside more often than the previous owner was... he only bought this place to fix it up and sell it for a profit, so he spent most of his time inside. I'm outside as often as I can be and maybe the deer have noticed that and avoid us. This deer was small and had probably just lost her spots so she didn't know to stay away. Who knows? I'd love to see more of them again, as long as they're not munching away on my fruit trees or vegetable garden!

My dear (deer) friend, I love country life......BUT...in these difficult economic times I should NOT be the sole provider of FODDER for the creatures you love so much! This Island is totally overrun with these cute creatures....and I guess the cougar is Mother Nature's way of controlling. We have a "NO HUNTING" bylaw, so on any given day you will encounter 30-40 of them, and as I said, it's a small Island, so they are encaptured.....fencing is a joke here...the grass is always greener on the other side....16+ feet.....they just run thru it! Now with the cougar (just sighted in my area) I am reticent to go to work at 3:30 a.m.---the start of their eating time! I guess it boils down to how fast I can run....with Brui (my dog) to the truck.........and it has been scary for the last 2 weeks...cuz "no-one" would know I was "cougar kill" !Yikes....and Cheers!

Forgot to mention, I climb into my fruit trees and hang yellow ribbon, the kind that Police scenes use....they seem to dislike that, cause the ribbon flaps in the breeze....and yellow seems not to be a comforting color for them! Cheers!

WOW! I mean... WOW!!! And, here I am, complaining about them destroying one peach tree! Well, a few bushes I planted last year and the year before have been nibbled on, but not destroyed. I've taken to using a pepper spray on my plants that I don't want eaten by the wildlife. It seems to be working! Although, it is hard work since we've had SO MUCH rain this year and I have to reapply it after every rain. Maybe, if you tried that with your favorite plants and around areas where you know the deer will be, it will help make them afraid to munch down on any of your things once they try it for the first time. They really don't like hot pepper! At least, I don't think they do. I know it works for rabbits, gophers, chipmunks and all other kinds of small, furry critters, and I haven't had any more deer damage since starting with the hot pepper spray. Wow! I'm still amazed that you have so many and they get so close! I can see why they'd want to stay out of their normal areas with an aggressive cougar on the loose. I think I'd be more afraid of that cougar dropping by! I know your property is much larger than mine and fencing it in would be out of the question. We can't afford to do that all at once here, with only the 2 acres that I want fenced in, but we do what we can when we can. We've blocked off most of the easiest access points for them and the damage to my plants has been reduced, although not gone completely. We have the deer attacking from the woods across the road and geese attacking from the lake, plus the little furry things attacking from every direction! Geez. Isn't country life grand? Stay safe!!! P.S. I hope to be getting some photos of my poppies for you soon! They got a late start because of dear hubby thinking they were weeds. But, he also thought my asparagus, my bamboo and a lilac bush were weeds, too. Geez. He has a lot to learn!

I went and looked at your photos before responding (and also wrote comments). I must admit that I thought that caribou looked like an albino moose at first! Having never seen either in the wild, I have to admit my lack of knowledge about them. All I do know is that moose (meeces? moosii?) are HUGE!!! I'd be terrified if they wandered anywhere near me! I'll stick with our deer. They weigh about the same as humans so they're not so frightening. Besides, one tiny noise or movement on your part and they're GONE! They're very skittish critters. I'll post the photo I took right after the deer noticed that I was at the window to take it's picture. It whipped it's head around fast, then stood motionless for a few seconds, to make sure all was safe, then resumed its munching on the leaves.