A deer was here

Someone took a nap in my tomato patch! Note the smushed and well-nibbled stems.  by PPJ (2018) CC BY-SA 2.0 

As the days get shorter and season draws to a close, there comes a certain point when the garden plants quit. The tomatoes stop producing, the patty pan squash withers up and the flowers all go to seed.   This year, we had some 4-footed visitors who helped hurry that end date along.

To be fair to my visitors, my garden patch is not fenced and I haven’t had too many problems with nibblers all summer.  I don’t even mind a few bites here and there, there has been plenty of garden snacks for everyone. I noticed that the cherry tomato plants, which had been done for a week or so, now looked like someone (fairly large) had taken a nap on top of them.

There were some other clues, too.  First, the hoofprints in the soft soil.

When you see hoofprints, think deer (not unicorns).  by PPJ (2018) CC BY-SA 2.0 via Flickr https://flic.kr/p/2b7bgyM

Next, the poor denuded sunflowers and okra stalks:  Tasty, tasty leaves and flowers!

Former calendula blossoms by PPJ (2018) CC BY-SA 2.0 via Flickr https://flic.kr/p/2b7b8nr

Denuded okra stem by PPJ (2018) CC BY-SA 2.0 via Flickr [url=https://flic.kr/p/28mhRAS]

Partial sunflower head by PPJ (2018) CC BY_SA 2.0 via Flickr [url=https://flic.kr/p/2b7b3FT]

Decapitated and de-leafed sunflower by PPJ (2018) CC BY-SA 2.0 via Flickr https://flic.kr/p/29HS3Z8

Finally, the stuff they left behind: Spicy nasturtiums they did not touch (too spicy!)  and a deer scat “calling card.”

Floofy nasturtiums

deer scat!

I don’t really begrudge the deer their end-of-season buffet.  (I think I would be far less magnanimous if the nibbles happened in the early spring.)   The days are a little colder and the wind a little sharper.    I would just have to tear anything still left in the garden next month when it closes for winter.  At least this way, the deer get a last hurrah before a long winter of  eating bark and stems.