As I sit in my office looking out the big picture window, snow is falling as it has been doing consistently since November. I enjoy this time of year for the reason of planning the summer season of gardening and what I want to do differently this year to make for an even better season…
One big problem I am having to date is the predation of deer in my garden area as well as our fruit trees. With the ground being covered with deep snow, the deer are attacking anything that has a sweet bud or leaf for their sustenance. They have completely stripped my holly bush next to the house and eaten every leaf off a beautiful evergreen tree which was planted 6 years ago when our grandson was born. I have sympathy for these creatures but also don’t want my trees and garden to be their food supply to the point of eradication of things that bring beauty and joy to my life.
Our house is closely surrounded with lots of vegetation which allows the deer to hide and attack from close quarters. They have no hesitation from coming right up to the house. I listened to a podcast about deer predation solutions and their idea was to get a dog who will run them off. I believe because we are a farm and they are threatening our livelihood, we can apply for a deer nuisance permit which I called this morning to research our options. It’s a solution that was not on top of my list of options but the items on top of the list have not worked so this solution has moved its way up.
For as wonderful as the lifestyle of farming is, the real life challenges of profitability and viability are there. With Punksatawney Phil seeing his shadow which means 6 more weeks of winter, the devastation will continue for weeks to come. If we can get rid of the snow then the deer can forage the ground to find something to eat and we will all be happy campers.