I know now you're in OH not NJ ;-) but are you rural or suburbs?

The last night the guys were haying, I had just put DD to bed, was standing by kitchen sink and saw *four* does on our back yard. Went to get DD out of bed and were watching from Ds's window when my dad and DH drove up in noisy truck, scared them away.

A few weeks ago we saw a buck and a doe out there. Never seen a buck in our yard before - and this isn't mating season, he looked like at least a year old since he had a few prongs, you never see them together this time of year.

But we've got hundreds of acres of woods behind us, so it's not unusual to see one or two does (or a bobcat, coyote, or bear).

Beautiful! I saw a couple down the road yesterday. Tis the season!

We have deer in our yard all the time - except when my brother and his family were visiting and looking forward to seeing them!

We have deer also. They are such beautiful, graceful animals. We saw a baby recently - I thought it was a dog following the doe at first!

I got a scare coming in the other day - one dashed across the road in front of me - I was so thankful I had time to get stopped!

tina

Here's one of our herd. Many people in our area call them "rats with hooves," but we enjoy coexisting with them, although we don't believe in interfering with mother nature by feeding them. The does hide their fawns in a small field on our property and I was saddened to find part of a dead baby in our driveway a few weeks ago. But, I left the body there because I knew Foxy and her family of kits needed to eat.

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I thought folks on this thread might enjoy this video, which is accompanied by a gorgeous song. I can't watch it without crying, it's so beautiful, to me at least.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bambi - Lullaby for a Stormy Night

Deborah:
I think you're just west of me (you're Pataskala, right?); I'm in Newark. I love animals, and our yard is host to squirrels and chipmunks and rabbits, and woodpeckers, and cardinals and chickadees. BUT, after losing half my marigolds, the buds off my roses, my hosta, my rose of sharon, and my black-eyed susans in the last week to deer, I'll be glad to load our herd in a bus and drop them off at your house! LOL. Oh, and I forgot about the thousands of dollars worth of damage one did to the front of my car on my way to work one day last November. Not to mention the mental stress of killing an animal. Just be very careful, Deborah, driving to work. This area is one of the worst for deer. The first time I hit one was in front of Mount Carmel East. (I've hit two; my husband has also hit two)

We are currently enjoying the company of a huge river otter which DS thinks is an allegator. HE comes out to play right outside of the house (in the lake) just about every evening. They're rare on the lakes here (it's big news in the city our little fellow) so we're enjoying the special treat :)

Ajsmama, yep I now live in Ohio in a more rural area but I am about 15-20 minutes from the city. Dee, yep I'm in Pataskala. The deer are around all the time, I see the most early morning and around dusk in the evening. We do have to be careful driving as they dart out of nowhere all the time.

Goldgirl, the other saturday morning I turned onto my street just in time to see a fox running across the road holding a rabbit in its mouth. I slammed on the breaks and just about had a heart attack. Just before he got to the other side, he dropped the rabbit and I had to look away as I drove to my house.

We have deer, coyotes, rabbits and various other animals because of the woods behind me.

It pains me to see roadkill all the time. I'm not a big animal lover but I don't like to see any harmed.

The deer did a number on our shrubs this past season and my hubby has been trying to find something to keep them away from the plants and shrubs. There does seem to be an overabundance of them where I live.

I took these pictures last week and was bummed that they came out fuzzy. As bothersome as the deer are, they are beautiful.

Like Dee I also have squirrels and chipmunks and rabbits, and woodpeckers, and cardinals and chickadees. The birds are wonderful to watch and I sometimes wake up to the sounds of the woodpeckers.

Dee, if you have any suggestions on great places to go for accessories or antiques I would appreciate it. I'm getting tired of the Hobby Lobby's, HomeGoods, Kirkland's and am looking for something different.

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Deborah:
There's two great sources I like to use around here. One you've probably seen on the local Craigslist advertising furniture, Heritage Square Antique Mall, Brice Rd, north of I-70, behind Burger King (directions taken from ad). They have some great stuff; it's a typical antique mall, with separate booths, but I always find a couple of items I can't live without. The other is an auction house, just around the corner from me, Appletree. They buy up estates, and get some really unusual accessories. I love to go there, but they now sell some of their items on a live internet website, so if you're just interested in one or two items, you don't have to attend in person.
Dee

Here is a link that might be useful: Appletree Auction

How sweet!

Last Friday when I went to pick up the kids from MIL's house I saw a Doe and 2 fawns standing in the driveway. They live off of an easement and down a real long driveway.

I thought it was so special!

Can't wait to check out that video!

We had a beaver in the creek at our old house -- used to occasionally catch a glimpse of him swimming by. I used to sit down by the creek with a cup of coffee as the sun came up and listen to the world wake up around me. Used to call it my 'sanity break'.

We were sitting in the TV room of our new house, with DD, DSIL and two grandkids age 4 and 7 -- and maybe 20 feet outside the window was a beautiful doe . . . the kids were mesmerized! DH has seen them all over the property, but this was the closest to the house we've observed.

I'll love them till they start treating my hosta collection as a salad bar . . . and then it will be war! (I'll install motion-activated water thingies, not bang-bang war.)

I love this thread--thanks, deborah :)

and igloo--a river otter!! DD would *love* to see pics of it if you can get any...

Dee, I love the antique mall. I go often when my hubby works on saturday and stroll leisurely down the lanes. Thanks also for the tip about Apple Tree, I will check it out.

Thanks you guys for contributing such great stories and pics, I especially needed this after my amex debacle.

Deb