Over the weekend, I almost gained a new hood ornament. A deer.
I was headed up a narrow road, when out of the snow on one side a deer jumped out right in front of me. I slammed on the breaks, slid to a halt and stared the animal down an bit. It did not seem phased by almost getting hit by a car. In fact, it seemed to be telling me that I was the one who didn’t belong.
And really, they do seem to be taking over a bit. A friend in the city has roughly about twelve that drop by his place on a regular basis. They seem to be trying to eat their way through a rather tasty hedge he has planted in front of his house. Although the hedge also provides cover so they can jump out at unsuspecting humans making their way down the sidewalk. Or cars. They seem to like surprising cars for some reason.
In fact, the one that jumped in front of me, when I told someone about it, they just told me to be careful, because there are usually three in that area. Just when you think you’re in the clear, another one is likely to pop out.
There doesn’t seem to be any shortage of deer around. And they seem to be moving right into towns and cities and making themselves at home. They almost seem to be getting comfortable with us around. A bit too comfortable, perhaps.
I’m not sure what we do about all the deer. Maybe we can just teach them a few basics. Like don’t jump in front of cars. That would be a good start.