It's Eatin Time

I may have to ask Hanna for a venison recipe. I’ve managed to tolerate the damage done to my garden by the mice, voles, moles, chipmunks, squirrels, and rabbits. However, all their destruction is nothing compared to one night’s rampage by a deer. This hosta is almost completely defoliated. My daylily buds were nipped right off.

If I lived in the country, I’d be thrilled about attracting deer because I could shoot them in my front yard and save on groceries. However, I live in the city limits and I can’t just randomly fire a shotgun next to the street. There is also the little problem about deer not presently being in season and the fact that they must be hunted in the daylight.

I can stand the smaller pests, not only because their damage is minor, but because my five cats keep them well in check. Yes, I am a heartless bitch who can watch her cat slowly kill a bunny by licking it to death. The evening the deer came to my buffet happened to be a night that Mr. Tibbs stayed out (I usually managed to round the cats up at nightfall), but he didn’t do a thing to save my plants.

If I can’t shoot the deer, is there any way to train my cats to bring it down themselves? I like to imagine the five of them hunting in a kitty pack. A deer carcass at my front doorstep would be a HELL of an offering. Or, at the very least, can I teach them to stand sentry in the branches of the trees and pounce on the deer’s back, howling, yowling, spitting, and clawing until it runs away in terror? *Sigh* At least the deer don’t come through my yard often. My hosta will probably recover, but I still wouldn’t mind a little venison jerky.