Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Few apples make for few deer

   Those that monitor deer herds and have begun scouting know that things have changed. For instance, that herd you may have been seeing for a couple of years may have disappeared.
   Blame it on a finicky spring that got warm too soon then became cold just when it didn't need to. The affects were blossoming fruit trees that got caught with no protection when the cold set in.
   The result for the grocery shopping public as well as the deer hunters is little or no apples. Prices are higher because of the shortage.
   And deer herds have had to change locales to find food. One herd I have watched for years isn't there as I have previously mentioned.
   I've seen fawns recently that were born probably too late to make it through the winter. They are very small and like their elders, have that look that seems to say, "which way to food."
   I don't know how the acorns have done, and whether the oaks that would normally produce them will have a marked decrease in mast production this year.
   All in all it looks like slim picking definitely for the deer and maybe for hunters too.

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