Wildlife Buffet

We knew it was only a matter of time -- the deer have been snacking on our hostas and flowers. They've mostly confined their dining to the front yard so far; the fence seems to have dissuaded them from the back yard at least temporarily. I'm sure they could jump the fence if they wanted to, but they probably just go for the easier pickings. Ah well. Such is life in the country. (As problems go, it's probably better than life in the big city.)

The squirrels have also been up to their usual shenanigans. (I have a long and troubled history with squirrels. It started in high school, when they would dart out in the middle of the road at exactly the worst time. I never actually ran one of them down, but I did give one the bird. The low point of my squirrel saga was when they decided to take up residence above the ceiling of my apartment bedroom in graduate school. Skitter skitter skitter with their horrible little claws, all night long. It took months for the maintenance guy to figure out how to get rid of them.) Their latest trick is that they've destroyed the bird feeder that W & G got us for Christmas. First they stole the plastic parts that kept the birdseed inside. But that wasn't good enough for the little jerks; they've now gnawed through the plexiglass for a birdseed bonanza.

I suppose I should admire their survival of the fittest tactics, but instead, we just sic Stanley on them.