Oh, Deer

The Minnesota DNR says the deer harvest was a little less than average this year. A rainy October left corn standing in the field that normally would have been harvested by now. The deer could hide from hunters in the corn fields. Our state has 1.2 million deer. Taking 200,000 deer from the state herd would be great. I'd much rather a deer hunter harvested a deer, fed her or his family, and contributed to the hunting economy that me hitting a deer with my car. I learned in my nature class that the average doe ranges 1 square mile. A white tail buck ranges 5 miles. That makes me wonder how many deer we have in our neighborhood. I've seen as many as seven in the yard. All the does I saw this spring had twins. I've heard other deer observers mention seeing twins as well. I believe the number of fawns born is dependent on the winter weather. I am going to try to pay more attention to the deer this winter. I know we have one doe with a black face but otherwise I haven't distinguished them. My ultimate goal is to find a deer shed - some antlers in the woods. If I could come upon a set of antlers, I would definitely do a happy dance. Beginning in late January through early March, I'll have a reason to tromp through the woods.