My wife and I have been living in our rural home for three years now and have enjoyed being close to nature. We have dealt with ticks and coyotes, and we have done our best to roll with the seasons. But this winter has been by far the harshest and snowiest, and it has been difficult to witness the reality of the situation up close.
I have lived in rural locations most of my life, so I am familiar with the “cycle of life” in nature. In a typical year I might find the remains of a few deer in my woods, but this year more snow has meant more deer are starving. I have spoken to the local Department of Natural Resources and am following their recommendations for the healthiest and most environmentally sound way of feeding the herd. But sadly, many of them are still dying.
I am writing this to express my sadness. Today I was out working in the yard and saw one of the fawns bed down for the last time before it died. I wanted to share my sadness, and also to make people aware of a potential downside of buying property in a winter deer yard.