This is the perfect title for a book on deer, because living here in semi-rural Connecticut, we would see our fair share of deer as we drove around at dawn and dusk. Then when we tried to plant a garden, we saw the evidence of their work–footprints in the dirt and nibbles at the leaves. The morning glories that we trained on a trellis this summer only bloomed at the top of the trellis, because the deer ate all the way up both sides.
We would always see the results of deer presence in our yard, but until this last year or so, never actually saw the deer, which I thought was unfair.
I love to see deer. There is something so graceful and strong and beautiful about them. As I said, last year we started to see them more frequently, eating the evergreens on our property during the snowy winter.
In The Hidden Life of Deer Elizabeth Marshall Thomas writes about her observations of the deer population on her property that she was able to monitor specifically as a result of putting out corn for them in a season when the acorns, their usual winter diet, were scarce.
I found this book to be completely readable and fascinating. She takes a balanced look at wildlife, noting how humans effect wildlife and the effect that wildlife has on humans as well. Reading this book answered many questions that I had, such as “With a 40 pound barking dog in my yard, why do the deer come at all?” The answer is that they do not feel threatened by a barking dog. She is the enemy they know, and in fact serves to alert them of the stealthier, more potentially dangerous enemies (other dogs and people). The couple of times I’ve seen deer in the yard at daylight, I’ve always looked for the dog, and I’ve usually found her up on the back deck, watching them and staying very still, or waiting to be let in the house. She is no threat to them, and they obviously figured that out accurately.
In Marshall’s effort to understand deer, she even goes out with a hunter. She understands that hunting is a part of the life of deer, with humans being natural predators, and she is not necessarily firmly against it as one might suppose.
For that reason, this book might make a great gift for a hunter or nature-lover.
We have a copy to give away to one of you (U.S. or Canadian shipping addresses). Just leave a comment here, and we’ll announce the winner on November 11.
The winners of the Waiting for the Owl’s Call giveaway are #6 Jen @ Happy Little Homemaker, #12 Penny Hull, and #22 Nicole C. The winners of The Swiss Courier are #1 Katy, #4 Stacy, #8 Jenny, #39 Anita, and #46 Nancy.
Seeing deer and other wildlife (foxes, pheasants, wild turkeys) is one of the things that Jennifer Donovan loves about living in Connecticut. She blogs about her life at Snapshot.
Happy Autumn!
My mom would like this…..
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I would so love to win this! We are hunters, but we are also conservators. We only shoot mature deer that need to be culled out of the herd and eat what we shoot. We also plant food that is good for deer growth throughout the year. Thanks!
sherri419 at gmail dot com
I grew up in the country, and one of the most calming things about driving late at night was the hope that I would see a deer, and I saw them everytime. I would love to read this.
My son is a hunter and would absolutely love this book
Sounds like a good book
We live deep in the Everglades and have feeders set up quite close to our home where a small herd comes daily to dine and rest twice daily. Watching them as they relate to one another and watching the babies grow is an endlessly intriguing pastime. Although we take advantage of hunting season to cull the deer population on our ranch, we are basically environmentalists who want to safeguard this relatively pristine land and its inhabitants.This book sounds like a truly fascinating read. Great giveaway. Thanks.
This sounds so good. We see der up near the college by us.
mightynaynay(at)cs.com
This sounds so good. We see deer up near the college by us.
mightynaynay(at)cs.com
There are both Hunters and Nature lovers in my family. As we live in the country, I would love to read this book. Please enter me.
rhondastruthers at yahoo dot ca
Would love a chance to win.
I’d love to read this. We have so many deer in our area.
This is a very fascinating book. We have lots of deer in our rural area.
Please enter me into the contest. Thanks!
please enter me in the book giveaway
When we lived in North Carolina we would have so many deer in our backyard. That is soemthing I really miss.
We live near the forest and encounter them all the time as well. My husband was jogging on a bike path near our home and a deer was stanging right on the path blocking his way. He got frightened that the deer did not run away just stare at him. My husband quickly ran back the other way.
Thanks for the giveaway. Deer are such beautiful animals and this book would be lovely.
This sounds like a great read. I was fortunate enough to have a family that would frequently come to my yard.
Oh I would love to win this. We have a doe that wanders our property – we have begun to call her “Mama Deer” and every year she has two “Baby Deer” with her.
This looks great
Please enter me 🙂
She can have all my deer in the backyard. They eat stuff from my garden and the wreath on my door.
We have plenty of deer here, too! Take some!
I would love to read this book
Oh this sounds like a great book. My brother is an avid hunter but also the person with the most appreciation for wild life that I know. I’d love to give him this book.