Oh, DEER!

We live on the side of a mountain and every day we see deer. No lie. It has become a saying in our family, especially to whoever is driving, “OH DEER!” because they will step out, run out, or jump out in front of you at any time.

When we first moved here we were pressing our faces against every window of the house, like visiting a zoo, or running to the balcony, because the deer were all around the house.

It can be quite the experience when you walk around the front of the house and SURPRISE, there is a buck sauntering past, close enough to touch.

Of course, many people feed them here but it is a well known “rule” not to. We have told the kids, PLEASE DO NOT feed them. Can you imagine being surrounded every morning by deer because they expect food? Not quite like squirrels or birds.

We have yet to see any bear BUT we have seen the damage done by bears who get into garbage bins or backyard fences. Yikes! They are pretty powerful.

While on a walk a couple of months ago, we ran into two different neighbours that warned us of cougars. They told us that there are three prides living on the side of the mountain we are housed on. Last spring a cougar was wandering our neighbourhood in the middle of the day. We were told not to let the dog out alone and always walk with our smallest child. Oh, dear! I mean…cougar!

This particular sign is very close to where we live. There is one just like it at then end of our street. We laughed so hard because the letters that are missing are typically in red and someone scraped them all off. So, now, it is a chose your own adventure!