City Neighbors

I live in a part of a city that is about three miles from downtown Cincinnati. However, that does not mean that you won’t see raccoons, deer, wild turkeys or foxes in my yard. Today grazing in the back yard off my deck were two beautiful, golden brown deer. They were not shy either. When I walked onto the deck they only looked up to ask what I wanted. It was immediately obvious that they thought the yard belonged to them as much as anyone else.

Some local areas are greatly overpopulated with deer. A couple years ago the neighboring city of Fort Thomas passed an ordinance to permit bow hunting in hopes of reducing the increasing deer population.

These deer will forage for food wherever they have to. Many of the deer's natural habitats have been wiped out due to the ever-expanding human population. Deer are then forced into residential areas because in many cases there is nowhere else for them to go. Many times they haphazardly wander into a yard and begin feasting on trees and plants. They often come back for seconds.

I like deer. I think they are pretty and seem so peaceful. But, I will be watching these two guys. They are welcome back as long as they don’t feast on hostas or my flower bed. Then, like any problem neighbor, a good fence might be in order.