Last Sane Man Standing - Blog of Corey Deitz

"Dances With Deer"

June 24, 2007

I've been feeding the deer who live in the forest that surround my home since last October. At first, I placed corn on the treeline - about 35 yards from the back of my house. Over time, I slowly moved the corn from the treeline to about 10 feet from the bay window in my kitchen.

Dutifully, the deer have followed their free meal, even though it has meant walking out into the open through a vacant backyard and up a steep, bare hill. They have traded vulnerability for a free meal.

The first few months the deer were pretty skittish of me or any family members. At the first sign of a human, they bolted into the woods.

Over the past month, I began to notice that the deer often congregated on the treeline and watched us when we were outside. Sometimes, at night, when I would take my dog out, I would shine my flashlight into the woods and see various pairs of eyes reflecting back at me. It's obvious, the deer were not only feeding at McCorey's every night but spending more time near the trees on my property.

Last night, as my family and I were sitting on my patio and quietly chatting after barbecuing, it happened: one young 6-point buck walked out of from the treeline and cautiously came up the hill in a very slow and calculated walk. We almost couldn't believe it.

We continued to sit and whisper as we watched him watch us, ever slowly edging toward his meal.

It was absolutely a breakthrough in our relationship with these beautiful, wild animals whose home we invaded some time ago.

You may find it odd that I even consider us to have a "relationship" but I can't imagine a more wonderful way of conducting your life than being able to earn the trust of an animal which for all intents and purposes should run from you and those like you.

How very curious that we humans can sometimes get along better with other species than with members of our own.