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October 25, 2004
Feeding Time
When my brain signals overload and the mind just won't shut off, I grab some clothes, my all-weather hiking boots and my camera and head out of the city and into the woods. Since I'm not a stereotypical city dweller, (you can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl,) I'm more comfortable and zen-like in other locales. Common sense would have it that I'd move out of the city once and for all, and though I'm seriously considering it, I've used up all of my common sense for this month. I digress.
One of the first things I do when I arrive at my appointed peace of mind destination is to fill a container with corn and sprinkle it out on the grass for the deer. Hours later, the bambis seem to sense when a meal is waiting and suddenly 5-10 of them show up to eat. This time around the feed supply had been depleted and replenishing it would have to wait until the next day.
The next morning I was out the door at 6:15 a.m. hoping for a decent sunrise to photograph. A quick look out the window and the idea evaporated -- a dense fog greeted me instead of a gorgeous sunrise. I opened the door and went out on the deck, surveyed the lay of the land, looking out and into the surrounding woods. Some movement to my left caught my eye. It was a deer and I had no corn to feed it, but I remembered the leftover biscuits from last night's dinner. That will have to hold him over until I get to the feed store. Back into the house I went, grabbing the biscuits and my camera and then back outside.
I sat down on the steps of the deck very close to where I usually spread out the corn. Okay, so bread isn't exactly the ideal nourishment here, but is the deer going to protest? We'll see.
Now the trick here was not so much getting the deer to fall for my biscuit bait but managing to snap the photograph. Common sense (remember, I'm all out for this month) would have had me using my left hand to feed the deer while using the right hand to take the picture. One-hand-only photos are a neat trick -- you have to balance the camera in your hand, make sure one digit is ready to press the shutter button and hope the camera is pointed in the right direction. It quickly became evident that the deer was really into the biscuits, and I was truly amazed that this particular deer had no qualms about approaching me. Deer are usually skittish and flee immediately when something they're unfamiliar with comes into view. This was a bit of a surprise to me, though based on how quickly this deer inhaled the biscuits, obviously it was quite hungry and tired of eating the local vegetation.
Now we can easily debate the supposed harm I'm doing by feeding the deer at all. I think the most common and frequent argument is that I'm disrupting nature's course. The feeding habit of deer is usually focused on local vegetation as well as any backyard garden that isn't enclosed by a fence. However, I've done the test numerous times when I haven't put any corn out at all, and the deer return to munching on leaves and branches. It's not as if the deer are standing there on their hind legs, arms crossed in front of their chests demanding to know where the corn is.
So yes, I'm guilty. I spoil them rotten. I feed them corn whenever I'm in the area. How often can you say that you've walked away from deer, only to turn around to see five of them following you? It's really funny when that happens. Two ten-pound bags of corn later, once again I've endeered myself to them. :-)
Cindy
Comments
i love your visits away, although i don't like you being away. you obviously enjoy yourself and you have some great stories and pictures of your beloved deer.
if they're still alive then i don't think you're upsetting nature's way - it must be similar to a human having a mcdickie every now and then.
Brain matter deposited by: zed on October 25, 2004 12:14 PM
"Now we can easily debate the supposed harm I'm doing by feeding the deer at all."
Now, Squip... you know I can't let that one slide by :) Let's debate, shall we?
I don't really buy that upsetting natures business, corn is pretty natural and it's not like your feeding them burritos (I don't even want to know what a mcdickie is).
The problem is, your essentially domesticating a wild animal who will come to associate people with food. This isn't in anyones best interests. Come hunting season that deer is going to be a much easier target. Rather than saying, "Oh shit, man scent. Time to go," he/she is going to say, "Cool. Lunchtime."
Your also making it easier for unethical hunters who will bait deer or road hunt them. They also have to get to the yummie Squip diner in the first place, this probably means crossing a road or two -- not a week goes I don't scrape up a carcass from the roadside or hold some little old ladies hand because she 'murdered Bambi' with her Buick.
I admit I'm biased, I hate the sucker sand have devoted a great deal of time and resources to driving them away. They're pests and crap all over my lawn while eating anything we try to plant. I understand it's cool to have a wild animal eating out of your hand, but they aren't dogs. There must be some sort of preserve or something nearby where you can interact with them in a more controlled environment.
Brain matter deposited by: Al on October 25, 2004 2:20 PM
Zoe -- now that's a new one -- I'll assume a "McDickie" is British slang for McDonald's... cute.
Brain matter deposited by: Cindy on October 25, 2004 2:43 PM
Al -- let the debate begin! I knew the minute I posted that you'd grab it by the whitetail and whip it around a few times.
First, your original statement last year was "They're deer, not puppies." (see my September 10, 2003 archive entry.)
Your quote from that piece:
"I have mixed feelings about deer. When I first moved up here
I was amazed at the sight of deer wandering through town
and hanging out on my lawn. As time passed and the novelty wore off
I began to see them as a pain in the ass."
I already knew how you felt about deer being fed.
Since my excursions are every-so-often and not on a weekly or even monthly basis, I fail to see how they're becoming
domesticated by being fed. Sticking them in a fenced in area so folks like me can interact with them? Talk about domesticating
animals! Dump them into a penned area and watch what happens. I don't think it makes things better, it just keeps
them away from old crotchety men, prevents them from relieving themselves on your lawn and eating your garden.
Deer will always be on the roads and in backyards and in the woods because that's what they do, whether I'm feeding them or not.
As far as the deer becoming a much easier target during hunting season, I can't say if that's true or not. I can't help but wonder what 'resources' you're using to keep them out of your yard.
Hmm.
Brain matter deposited by: Cindy on October 25, 2004 3:44 PM
"Since my excursions are every-so-often and not on a weekly or even monthly basis, I fail to see how they're becoming domesticated by being fed."
You have a picture of a deer eating from your hand... that looks pretty domestic.
"Sticking them in a fenced in area so folks like me can interact with them? Talk about domesticating animals!'
Yeah, I put that badly. Up here we have a few preserves. They are hundreds of acres and are not fenced, they are just people and hunter free areas where a population is monitored. However, there are feeding areas where if you arrive at the right time you can help feed the herd.
"I can't help but wonder what 'resources' you're using to keep them out of your yard."
What haven't I tried? We've hung nasty stinky stuff in the garden, we've fenced it, I've shot them with pellet and paintball guns, I've thrown fireworks at them and even tried an electric fence (that didn't go well, the deer are smarter than my kids). It's a losing battle and about the only thing we can do is secure a small garden and landscape with deer resistant plants. The only 100% effective method is to remove thier food source.
Brain matter deposited by: Al on October 25, 2004 4:03 PM
"we've fenced it, I've shot them with pellet and paintball guns, I've thrown fireworks at them "
Geez Al. Such cruelty to animals. Mean, mean, mean.
Brain matter deposited by: Cindy on October 25, 2004 8:04 PM
nooooooooooo. "mcdickies" is what a friend of mine from wisconsin would refer to that revolting place, macdonalds.
Brain matter deposited by: zed on October 26, 2004 12:59 PM
Mmmm - venison! No, really.
My boss and his cronies hunt by putting feed in these contraptions so the deer will keep going there to eat and then when deer season opens they shoot them and then brag about their kills. I don't see the sport in that and certainly don't see how that is something to brag about. It would be different if we still had to kill everything we ate - then that system would be the most efficient but they don't. It's purely for sport.
I used to love to watch the deer when we lived in Kentucky. Sure, you see plenty here, but it's not the same as a farm in the middle of nowhere where they're not scared and hiding in the trees. They're beautiful.
I'm still not opposed to deer sausage, though.
Brain matter deposited by: Kat on October 26, 2004 4:57 PM