So what did you do on Sunday?

We chased deer around the backyard. Doesn't everyone?

Mid-afternoon Tom noticed from his upstairs office window that there was a fawn in the backyard. Which would not be a problem except the yard is fenced. So how did he get in? So Tom went out to investigate, and was back almost to the house when he saw another fawn. Twins. Trapped in the yard. And Mom was outside. So -- what to do?

At first, no big deal. The fawns were calm and munching this and that, and Mom was nearby. But then one of the fawns wanted to join her, and could not remember how he had gotten in. We couldn't see any likely route of entry. Or exit. Sigh.

So I went outside and up the path next to our yard, and propped open a gate. By the time I got to the gate, Mom was cautiously waiting, eying me suspiciously, so we hoped the little ones would go towards her. No such luck. In fact, the fawns tried to get out through the gate, but walked behind the gate door instead of in front of it, trapping themselves between the fence and the back of the gate. Fawns are not smart.

Then Tom opened the two gates to the yard at either side of the house. They couldn't find them. So he tried walking slowly up into the yard to herd them gently toward the open gates, which simply caused them to panic and leap at the wire mesh of the fence, bashing their little heads on the fence. Then they tried sproinging all over the yard in general panic. Not helpful. So since we were out of bright ideas, we decided to leave them alone. A while later one found his way out the upper gate, probably by accident, and joined Mom. Then about 20 minutes after that Tom saw something brownish streak across the lot above ours toward Mom, and surmised that it was Twin #2. A tour of the yard a while later showed no deer.


Crisis averted. Although it leaves us with the feeling that this happens all the time and everyone survives quite nicely without our interference. Before the yard was fenced does would leave their fawns in it like a daycare center, and trot off to greener pastures for the day. Sometimes we would have four or five fawns nestled in the weeds (or, as we refer to them, native grasses). Maybe they are still doing it, and we smart humans have just not figure out how.