*Blacktail Deer.
Today I had to call S. on the phone so I could whimper about something that happened down by the pond. I needed an understanding ear for a few minutes.
I had planted three things near the puddle on Friday. A small lavender plant, chocolate mint, and some thyme. All things that I was almost certain the deer wouldn't care to eat.
Turns out I was wrong on ALL counts. The lavender plant is completely gone. The thyme eaten by half. And the chocolate mint chewed to ground level. [I have hopes that it will recover.... because I'm a damn fool optimist.]
I was so gobsmacked by this extremely unlikely turn of events, that I was questioning my will to live.
Good thing we have friends at these crucial moments!
At the end of the conversation, I determined not to plant anything else outside the fenced garden area until there are lots of other things for the deer to eat. I think right now because we have such an overpopulation of them, they are desperate for food of any kind and they are eating things they would never touch ordinarily.
This depressing turn of events makes me think that we really DO need a dog around the homestead. But I just don't feel up to the commitment right now. Though I did tell a friend the other day that if one accidentally shows up by serendipity, I would most likely rise to the occasion and take it in. But I'm not looking. I'm not. Looking.
After the phone call, I decided to do the next thing on my list with the pond that did not involve planting. I dug a small trench around the east side of it because I had an idea.
My brother came over with his pickup and we drove up the mountain a ways to a cut bank and gathered many buckets of decomposed granite sand. We put a few buckets of it in the chicken run to fill up some holes that they had dug near the steps of the coop that were dangerous to walk around. The rest went to fill up my trench.
I'm not going to plant anything on this side as I suppose the deer and other creatures will be drinking out of it and I didn't want it to turn into a muddy mess.
Even though I am not finished yet, I'm going to put a 'before' picture here to show how different things are since I began this insane project.
Frankly, I cannot believe I was brave enough to tackle this mess. Truly.
(Are you sure brave is the proper choice of words to describe what you've done?)
Perhaps not.
But I'm going with it for now. In SPITE of the ding dang deer. :-(
