Deer in the Field

I was up in Kingfield this past weekend and though I didn't see them, there was sign of deer all over the place. It was obvious that they come by on a regular basis. In fact there's an indentation down the right side of our property.

I love deer, but because of them every plum, pear and peach we hope to eventually pick from the trees in our little orchard will be worth $10 each for the next decade. We had to put a newer, bigger fence around each tree mostly because Norm - God bless his soul - kept banging into the existing wooden posts with his tractor when he mowed the field. They were in shambles. The new fence posts are higher, made of metal and the fencing is a thick tough plastic.

In the spring we will have to build a fence around the vegetable garden too. Woodchucks - they wiped out my entire crop of brussels sprouts, cauliflower and broccoli. In the meantime, we figure every carrot they did not get is worth about $5 each for the next five years. Adding the new fence will double that.

Living in rural Maine is a game of one upsmanship, not with your neighbors, but with the local wildlife.  We have decided to try to keep rural Maine as it has been for centuries - on our little piece of heaven anyway. That means living in harmony with the critters - woodchucks not included if the fence doesn't do the job.

We figure that by the time we're done, we will have achieved the equivalent of a large loft in mid-town Manhattan.

Deer in the Field • 8" x 8" watercolor framed to 12" x 12" • $200