Last winter I had five white tailed deer and two mule deer visiting the backyard on a regular basis.  They would come and eat the grain that I would put out in their feed dish and raid the hanging bird feeders.

Over the summer, I had a motion sensor sprinkler set up so they would stay out of my garden.  It worked because the garden and shrubs remained intact.  

I wondered if the deer would return when the yard was put to bed for the winter.  There were

no signs that they were coming into the yard until I saw a couple of strawberry plants nibbled off.  That was a signal to get the feed dish out again.

I filled it about a week ago and have been refilling it every morning.  I didn't know how many were coming into the yard until a couple nights ago.  There were two that evening.  

Last night we saw three come into the yard after dark.  I saw their silhouettes by the feed dish so we shined a flashlight into the back so the girls could see them.  Today, we didn't need a light source.  The deer came into the yard before it got dark.  

I was outside and saw them approaching from the forest.  The girls were at the kitchen table.  "Gramma, here they come!"  One after another they filed into the yard; seven in total.

I ended up having an entire herd visit.  The girls were so excited.  They went running for the bedroom window where they had a better view.

My outside cat did not like the intrusion into his territory.  He may have thought that they were coming for his food next.  He took after them like a sheep dog herding a flock of sheep.  What a sight!

At this rate, the winter could get expensive if seven deer show up every day.  I'm going to need a second feed dish!

Blue jay vs deer at the feeder.