First off, the pictures in this post are all pretty bad because they were taken at dusk from some distance. I don't have a telephoto lens on my point and shoot.
Behind our home there is a rather steep, dry hillside. We don't water the trees, but there is one stunted apple tree that produces a few fruit each year. I generally collect them the week before Thanksgiving, add some purchased ones and make a pie.
Last week I noticed a doe and two yearlings trying to get the apples with no success. I wondered if it was time to pick them.
Yesterday at dusk, I noticed two bucks eyeing the tree.
The one on the right was larger, and at one point he clacked antlers with the smaller buck to let him know whose apples these were! But the smaller buck hung around and watched anyway.
"Who needs a longer neck?"
Determination!
Jump!
He made about a half dozen tries and did manage to snag two apples before giving up. His younger friend managed to get a few leaves when the big guy wasn't looking, but pretty much stayed out of the way.
We don't "garden" because between the deer, gophers and dry summers it is a hopeless venture. I enjoy watching this sort of thing too much to want to have deer fences around the place.
This afternoon a large group of does were in the yard.
That buck will be after them soon, and a new crop of fawns will be learning about apples next year. I can buy as many as I need at Safeway!
That's very sweet that you don't care that they get them. We had one season in northern Indiana where there was so little food for the deer, they came through my yard and ate everything in sight, my ornamental grasses, flowers, shrubs, and yes, my little apple trees. But they all grew back the following year.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great scenario to observe! I wouldn't pick those apples either. :)
ReplyDeleteVery cool! Your own show. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI would let them have the apples, too. The value of watching them is priceless.
ReplyDeleteThat is fun, Merikay. We had deer at the Grants Pass cottage last week, and raccoons on the porch here in Rocky Point last night. Must be that time of year.
ReplyDeleteThat's just too cool. I would love to watch that.
ReplyDeleteso great to be in the right place at the right time!..so much for the pie!
ReplyDeleteVery cool! We have a lot of deer out here but they don't venture into these suburban neighborhoods much.
ReplyDeleteErik
Love... they look sleek and healthy.
ReplyDeleteLove the pictures. How fun to watch them. We had plum and apple trees in our yard. Some years the deer ate pretty much everything. These trees were pretty close to the house, and I was amazed how brave they were during daylight hours. They would stand up against the trunk and munch away!
ReplyDeleteWow, I've never seen deer looking up like that before.
ReplyDeleteWow! What a show you have in your back yard. That is why I miss Hardin Ridge the deer were always there for me to photograph. We will be back there in April.....
ReplyDeleteWonderful! I would love to have a place where I could watch this! We encourage the birds, squirrels, skunks (and occasional amorous possums), but there's no way for deer to get in--we're in a fenced-in townhome set-up. But someday!
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