The Landscape Formerly Known as "Lush"...

We were laying in bed this morning, admiring the jungle-like lushness of the woods outside our window, when I noticed a hummingbird flitting around the flower basket.

Happy Day! Deer, a multitude of songbirds, raccoons, a couple of groundhogs, the occasional skunk and now a hummingbird--all strolling along 2 feet out our backdoor.

My gloat about the abundance of nature here in our little sliver of Ohio was cut short when I took a good look at the flower basket the hummingbird was visiting. The huge peachy pink begonias were...gone! The ivy leaves...also gone! Impatients, some unknown blue flower and sticks...the sum contents of my formerly lush flower basket.

$20. Kev paid twenty bucks for that flower basket. I think the deer are paying me back for griping yesterday about the $7 worth of corn they consume each week. Seven bucks worth of corn is a bargain price when weighed against a twenty dollar flower basket.

I'm working on a way to get my name and address stamped on the deer. If a local hunter bags one this fall, I want it clear that I have a prior investment in the thing.