I’ve mentioned before the problems we have with deer in the neighborhood.  When we moved here seven years ago we often saw deer, but rarely more than a few at a time.  The population has grown steadily over the years (in no small part because our neighbors feed the silly things) to the point where it’s common for us to see a dozen or more deer bedded down in our yard at night.  The population is totally out of control.

I mentioned this to my friend Chris last April, and said that I was considering letting some bow hunters onto the property when hunting season rolled around.  Imagine my surprise when Chris contacted me and said that he’d bought a bow and had been practicing, and asked if I was serious.  He came down last month to scout the place, and arrived this weekend ready to hunt.  Yesterday was a bit frustrating for him because, although he’s able to hit a stationary target at 50 yards, the target doesn’t duck, jump, or back up when it hears the arrow coming.  Today he got a deer with his second shot.  We field dressed it in the front yard, and he packed it in ice for the ride back to Dallas where he and his friend will process it into venison steaks and other such delicacies.

Yes, it’s perfectly legal to hunt deer in my yard.  It is hunting season, after all, he had a valid license, and we’re not in the city limits.  And although I wouldn’t let somebody hunt with a rifle on my little 1.75 acres, that’s probably legal, too.

Oh, and don’t worry about the deer.  There are plenty more.