RM> > .. about 4 days in a row
  > > earlier this spring I've come out my front door in mid afternoon
  > > and there was a deer eating the long grass left from last year
  > > in a grassy low area about 30 feet from the house.

AR>How cute! There are deer around here too, but they don't let themselves be se

The deer around here seem fairly brave. We see them all the time and
sometimes when you come out they just keep an eye on you and continue
eating grass 20 feet away from you. One day I came out and walked
around behind my place and there, tucked up almost against my back
wall, was a baby fawn. It had probably been 'told' by its mother to
stay there and not move while she was eating close by because it just
stared at me from less than 10 feet away.

That said, the deer around here must also be able to read because just
before hunting season opens, they disappear much deeper into the woods.

AR>We also have foxes here. I like them, but they also force me to lock the hens
  > a safe place at night. We also have lots of sky predators (hawks et al) that
  >ke it very hard to be a hen, actually.

Yes, live animals raised outside would be a problem here too. One year
I had a cougar trying to get at my pet cat and even dogs have been
attacked around here. Funny, black bears are generally terrified of
dogs even if it's a puppy that weighs about 350 lbs less than they do,
although my brother's dog once got bit on the face by a rattlesnake,
quite a big surprise for all but the snake..

We have Turkey Vultures, Bald Eagles, Ospray Eagles and Hawks
patrolling the skies here, and Seagulls hunting smaller things..
You haven't lived until you see a Seagull dive on and eat a live
snake that's twice as long as the gull is..   B)

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 * SLMR Rob  * When it rains, why don't sheep shrink?
 * Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (618:250/1)