Thursday. I planted the lovely little Red Chokeberry bush.

Saturday. I went to see how it was doing. There were no small white flowers, no delicate green leaves; just bare branches. The deer had dined!

All day I mourned the loss of this pretty little plant with its bird friendly berries. I struggled with whether I should replace it. Might it grow back? What would I need to do to keep the deer away?

Sunday. I began to think that this was a gentle wake up call. It was a reminder that I’m part of a bigger system, and not totally in control. There’s other life, with other priorities. A garden is not only about aesthetics, it’s also about lunch.

I had to decide what to do. Do I fence in the shrub? Buy something more deer resistant? Spray noxious concoctions to discourage the deer eating.  Do I walk away and grow flowers?  Somehow I think it is important for me to accept the fact that deer roam the city streets.  We’ve not found a way to coexist with the wild life that inhabits our cites. Is this natural? Well, at the moment it just is.

I don’t want to do battle. I don’t want everything I grow to be fenced in.
So, I’m planting a Molly Schroeder Viburnum, less tasty to deer. This new shrub will remind me I’m not alone on the planet. It’ll be a humble reminder that I’m part of something bigger and that my desires aren’t the only ones that count.

Monday. I’m posting this. It’s one of many lessons I’m getting about the systems we are a part of.  I don’t want this post to be a diatribe about too many deer in our cities.  It’s really a love poem to the complexity of life.