Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Bon Jovi probably didn't see this one coming




(This was not one of the deer we saw. I found this pic on Google.)

So, just past dusk a couple of nights ago, the girls and I were in the car, driving Kylah, one of Leah's friends, home from our house.  She doesn't live too far away -- a couple of minutes in the car, tops.  There aren't many street lights in this residential part of the village, and I slowed down when the brake lights of the SUV in front of me flashed red. 

I was wondering why he was stopping in the middle of the road, when my answer arrived in the form of two large does bounding over the snow bank and in front of the SUV and disappearing between two houses.  A third one trotted through the snow after the first two, and, tracing her path backwards, we could all see that one of the homeowners has set up a feeding station in their unfenced back yard.  Three or four deer were eating out of a trough underneath a suspended light, just perfect for viewing from a window.

"Well that's pretty stupid," I said.  "Someone is going to get into an accident trying to avoid one of these deer.  You look out for them on the outskirts of the village, but you don't expect to see them coming out from between houses.  People are going to get hurt."

"Deer, too," replied Kylah.  "Some poor deer is going to end up dead meat."

From the back seat, I could hear Leah singing something, and then a whole bunch of giggles from the girls.

"What are you singing?" I asked.

"Oh, just a Bon Jovi song," Leah answered.

"Really?  Which one?"

Leah [singing louder]:"♫This deer is just bad venison, bad venison is what I need. Eat it up just like bad venison, bad venison will give me disease.♪♫"

[hysterical laughter from the back seat]

Someday I will learn not to ask these kinds of questions.

7 comments:

  1. Bwah!!! I love your kids.

    Oh, and the feeding station? Stupid indeed.

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  2. I love it! Your kids are brilliant! And yes, the deer feeding station is very stupid.

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  3. Very clever, and your daughters know Jon Bovi songs, also impressive :-)

    I read somewhere that feeding deer in the winter is bad for them, because their digestive system changes during the winter months, so they can eat things like bark instead of leaves. Feeding them can delay or stop that change.

    So, stupid feeding station for several reasons!

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  4. Thanks everyone. Yes, Leah does know Bon Jovi music, and David Bowie, and Talking Heads,
    B-52s, Blue Rodeo and Great Big Sea. My job as a parent is done. She likes to make up alternate lyrics to songs. There are a couple of Lady Gaga spoofs that would do Weird Al credit.

    And I'm shaking my head at feeding the deer in the middle of the village. It's not like this is a bad winter or anything, there are lots of food sources around. Cassi, you make a good point.

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  5. I am slack-jawed in admiration.

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  6. A feeding station near a road, really stupid. On top of that deer can get very aggressive and have been known to attack people and pets. Definitely not smart.

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