Quote:
Originally Posted by Mxfrank
The former owners of our house used to feed the deer. They had a feeding trough and salt lick set up for them. When we moved in, we were surprised that the deer population was about five per acre. Although we stopped feeding them, they came around out of habit, and passed the knowledge to their young. Hostas? Eaten to a nub. Rhoodendron? eaten to bare branches. Everything from ground level to six feet was leafless. The males would work the skin off their antlers by rubbing on the trees...several large trees were actually killed in this way. We reluctantly opened the property to bow hunting. It took three seasons to persuade the deer that it wasn't safe here any longer. So believe me when I tell you that ahhh cute gets old very fast. Don't make a pet of them.
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What was set to become my retirement property included a half acre just outside of Fenton, MI. It was next to 20 acres of repossessed land from a realtor who mismanaged and lost the property to the bank before it could be developed.
I would often go out very early on the weekend and drink coffee in front of my workshop. There I would see all kinds of deer coming to graze. They "trimmed" my mulberry bushes and other vegetation but knew I would not hurt them.
They got used to seeing me, I think, over six years.
Now this is all gone. An ambitious developer has converted the acreage into plots with many many mini-mansions that he is selling for $300-500K each.
I am periodically bombarded with requests to sell my property which I will do as soon as I find another one where I can pay cash for the property, move my workshop, sell the property and my current house, then retire. This over the next 18-24 months.
I plan to move to a six-acre farm near a larger 100 acre farms, where I have the local shade and will attract some of the local fauna.
I plan to have a haven for bees, wild flowers, and older Mercedes and Citroens.