Autumn is fast approaching, the apples are swelling and taking on a rosy tint, and our resident herd of deer continues to grow. I think word is getting around that the grazing is great and the family dog is a vegetarian ( or acts like one, anyway ). We haven't fenced our fruit trees - we figure the fruit on the lower branches is fair game to the local wildlife, so depending on the crop we often have raccoons or deer making fast-food stops in the yard. The coons are considerably more wary than their hooved neighbours, we only ever see them if we happen to surprise them at night ( although we
did have one that took up residence for a bit in our woodshed ... I'd catch glimpses of his/her grumpy face squinting at me when I went out to fill the woodbox in the mornings ). Our deer, however, have established firm squatting rights, and will happily browse around us while we work outside. Not even chainsawing will faze them. I swear they have a higher tolerance for loud noise than I do. We've noticed a number of does, two of which have fawns at present - twins for one doe, a single babe for the other. We wondered at first whether Ayla, our pooch, would react more aggresively when faced with the clearly more vulnerable young, but she seems to consider them just another odd-looking variety of dog.
Definitely worth sacrificing a few apples.
My husband Chris is a real sweetheart, and one of the many little ways he demonstrates his love is to occasionally bring home bouquets for no other reason than to make me smile. He’s definitely a keeper - no trade-ins in my future!
However, this last time he selected a floral arrangement with lilies, which, although lovely, are deadly to cats. We share our household with four little characters who, like the average two-year-old, will stick even the most unlikely objects in their mouths. One of them in particular, Katie, has a definite oral fetish, even to the point of trying to strip the paint from walls. In any case, all cats will munch on plants that look appealing, so it’s a good idea to steer clear of the ones whose toxins are particularly nasty, such as lilies. The entire plant is poisonous and if even a small amount is ingested it can lead to kidney failure and death.
