Walking into my kitchen, I glanced out the window and there, staring straight at me, were two deer…in broad daylight…the penalty we pay for living next door to Chagrin River Park. Why, you might ask, would I call these beautiful animals rapscallions (an old-fashioned word for rascal; rogue; or scamp)? It’s because they consider my Back Yard Bird Buffet their personal dining room, and anything I put out for the birds is free range for these much larger mammals.
When they saw me through the window, they ran away, but I knew they would be back because they knew where the good food was…free for their taking. Unfortunately, they are destructive. They push at the suet and other feeders with their heads to shake the food loose and when they’ve eaten their fill, they leave broken pieces on the ground…Not broken pieces of food, but broken pieces of the feeders. I’ve ended up with more than one broken bird feeder as a result of their night time visits, which is why I call them rapscallions. However, they are beautiful animals, and it’s quite amazing to see them outside my window. I guess we will just have to be more diligent about bringing our bird feeders inside before it gets dark. (But if you have a better solution, I would love to hear it).
Rant over! My feeders are inside and it’s time for me to go to bed.
See you tomorrow!
Trail Walker
SEEN ALONG THE TRAIL 
I hear you and feel your pain….
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Thank you, Cynthia. Things are going better this week, deer-wise. It may be that the melting snow has encouraged them to return to the park instead of roaming in our neighborhood.
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I’m glad to hear that. By the way, we got a fresh dumping of snow here – the thick kind. We’re living in a glass globe!
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Rapscallions indeed!
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I do appreciate the deer much more in the park. Like the starling invasion at the Back Yard Bird Buffet, the nightly deer invasion is a bit too much.
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Guess they can be a pain but they are lovely to look at.
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I absolutely agree with that, Oneta.
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We have a pulley set up high in the oak tree with the feeder attached to a rope that we raise and lower to fill the feeder. It’s more to keep out of range of bears, but it’d work for deer, too.
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That’s a creative approach. Thanks for sharing it, Eliza.
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rapscallions indeed! you managed to get some lovely detail of the main subject’s hindquarters, though.
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I wasn’t quick enough picking up my camera to capture her looking straight at me.
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