The deer are here every day now.
Eating and listening and watching.
Our refuge is their refuge.
The sounds that surround us
have herded them here to our haven.
We will share, we must be fair.
My most delicate treasures will be moved
to a bunny yard without bunnies.
Saving only the best and losing the rest.
That’s where we are
and the deer are here.
FLOW
When the green shoots up the deer show up.
A pine fell and knocked down the fence around the green patch.
They started there for a snack.
Then the herd moved down the bank to the daylilies.
The big one in the front knows me.
I waved to her as she posed for my camera.
Time to fence in the expensive stuff.
I try to deter the deer, although they are dear.
FLOW
How can I withhold food from a nursing mother?
She was so hungry she came back to snack on the bank at 5:30 in the evening.
This mama is ravenous. Maybe she has twins?
I could see her milk bag as she climbed the bank.
At least she stopped and posed for me before running into the woods.
I guess I’ll just clean house and read the rest of the summer.
FLOWERLESS
I will start this post with a beautiful new flower
that opened for the first time this morning.
It is a ‘Splendens’ Tiger lily, Lilium tigrinums.
It has my two favorite colors peachy/melon orange with plum-colored spots.
I am extra grateful to get to see this bloom this morning.
Hundreds of my other blooms did not have the opportunity to open this morning,
because they were eaten by deer last night.
Have I put my heart in transient treasure?
Twenty-eight years of carefully planning and tending my gardens
to become a high-dollar delicatessen for deer?
My living jewels eaten by marauding mammals.
Is this really how one should invest one’s time, money and energy:
to supply the locals with exotic cuisine, free-of-charge?
I must say the FLOWER is feeling rather foolish.
So today, I will enjoy my treasures that have not been eaten.
I need to love things that are not edible…
like my bunnies.
FOOL
There were numerous be-headings overnight. Oh, the horror!
Mama had a serious hankering for daylilies and hostas.
She especially loves the Whooperee daylilies.
Luckily, I do have one left intact inside the fence to show its juicy, big buds and blooms.
If I were a mama deer, I’d eat it too.
Such succulent flowers…just for show. How wasteful!
There should be a whole row of red here. Hi Ho.
This hosta row under the oak should be green. Hmmmm.
Here on the bank is a group of nine Giant Elegans, up past my knees.
The bottom row was a buffet last night.
There will be some fence laid down at the feet of my favorite juicy morsels,
to prevent future consumption.
Yes, I love my flowers, but that fawn wobbled away with my heart.
Chomp on Mama. Chomp on.
FLOW
It’s hard for the FLOWER to stay inside.
I do not like the cold, but I will be forcing myself outside.
Today, I did the usual yard and woods tour with my camera.
I did find deer tracks,
and two beautiful mushrooms,
and many red berries on my Foster Holly,
and the perfect spot to eat acorns (apparently).
I also discovered some things missing
in the green patch.
This did not upset me. I am happy to help my neighbors.
The eaten off stems made me smile.
Somewhere in the woods, the owner of these tiny hooves has a full belly.
FLOWER
I have opened a very popular eatery.
On Monday night the favorite was Hosta on the Hill.
The buffet line was totally cleaned out.
The Tuesday night special was Daylily Delight. Only one juicy Whooperee flower left.
Yesterday evening, I prepared for last night’s feasting
by adding some stinky Society Garlic as a side.
If you are expecting  jokes about getting a gun and making venison,
you will be disappointed.
You see I once was a bear, Â pregnant with twins.
NO, I am not crazy. Â I am a biologist. Â I took PROJECT WILD training.
In one of the activities, we were assigned an animal role.
I was a bear pregnant with twins. Â I had to capture at least three times more food cards than the others.
One total let me live, a higher total let one cub live and the highest total let all three of us survive.
At the end of the “game” I was exhausted and sweaty. Â I did my best. Â My totals weren’t high enough.
PAUSE…
Let that that sink in. Â Who got to survive you ask? Â If you are a mother, you know it doesn’t matter.
One of the munching deer is pregnant, Â that means at least one more “mouth” to feed…
And we have coyotes.
Mother Nature is my mother, too.
Flowers are Edible. Â Bring it Mama!
floweralley 