Or… “What do deer and cats have in common?”
Yesterday we harvested our cauliflower/broccoli Veronicas; one of which had gotten over-ripe and had gone to flowers.
No worries, said I. I’ll give it to the deer to munch on because I’m sure they would love it, being a vegetable and all.
So I tossed said Veronica on the ground under the plum tree, knowing that for sure it would be noticed.
Very small yellow plum litter the ground and sidewalk all around the plum tree, and the deer and bears adore these so they never last for long once they hit the ground. These have been on the ground now for over a day. Unheard of!
Oh boy, was Veronica ever noticed!
We were watching tv last night and heard a deer in obvious distress, yelling at something that was deadly. Perhaps a bear, we thought, given all the noise she was making, so we went to the window to look.
And there was a doe, with her fawn behind her, having a staring contest with Veronica, and stomping her feet. We couldn’t figure out what she was so upset about as there was nothing out there but one measely cabbage. Then we realized it was the cabbage that she was all in a huff about.
Who knew that Veronica ate deer???? Mishkin grew alarmed as well, and added his deep warning growl to the noise. He had no idea what the deer was talking about, but it had to be really bad if it ate deer. Since deer eat cats, he was understandably most concerned.
This went on all evening long until the Veronica won the field of battle and the doe and her fawn went elsewhere, sans plums. Well not entirely sans plums. She would stay a minimum of 15 feet away from Veronica, and was able to pick up the plums outside that radius.
We figure this is the same doe and fawn who were almost killed by the grouse.
This morning the Veronica is in two pieces and had obviously been stomped on and kicked around a bit last night, but not eaten. There is nary a bite mark to be seen.
And the head went another.
So, what do deer and cats have in common? They don’t like any changes to their environment. This doe and fawn are very familiar with our yard and they expect us to keep it in the same condition.
Killer vegetables are not acceptable. 🙂 Oh, and the Veronica that had not gone to seed was delicious with ranch dressing.