Murphy&#39;s Law of Deer

A deer-pruned tomato

Oh cruel world!! Just as I feel that the war on slugs has turned my way, Mother Nature sends back the deer to remind me of my fallacy. Ironically, we had just about finished the deer fence yesterday morning when we were chased inside by the combo of black flies and mosquitos, as well as the fact that I had to head into the radio station (where one of my guests, Ruth Clausen chatted about her new book, 50 Beautiful Deer Resistant Plants). I guess tomatoes aren't on that list.. or peas..

Anyhoo.. I should have gone up again last night to finish the last bit, but got tied up in everyday life.. So, for the first time in weeks, the *$##!!@ deer returned. I wandered up to the garden this morning to check out the pole beans and make sure the slugs hadn't come back. Thrilled to see that they hadn't, I turned and noticed that the peas had been chomped on.. turning wildly to look for other damage, I saw that the tomatoes had been topped and some completely defoliated!! The horror!!

Look, another deer pruned tomato!

It's funny how some things can literally feel like a punch in the stomach. Ok, maybe not funny, but interesting. After a few minutes of cleansing breaths, I have decided to look upon this damage as formative pruning.. sure, the weather and slugs and my work have set back the garden already, but instead of seeing the damage as a blight, I'll consider it a healthy pinching to thicken up my plants. At least I'll be sure to finish the fence today. And, my beloved pole beans weren't touched.. oh, that darned bright side of life..

Must go tighten up the fence.. I know they'll be back now that they've had a taste..

On a happier note - check out some of the blogs on my blog list.. I just added a new favourite - The Dutch Oven Diaries!! Fun!