It's Amazing What They'll Do For Attention

This morning, as I rounded the corner behind the house on my way to work, a little four-point muley buck jumped out onto the road in front of me. (The grass is always greener on the other side of the road...)

As we live in wildlife country, keeping an eye out for animals at the roadside is second nature for us, so this was not an unusual occurence. What was unusual was the fact that his antlers were adorned with a lovely set of silver wind chimes. The whole kit was dangling and swinging jauntily from his right antler.

My first reaction was to laugh out loud but, in the next second, the reality of the situation sank in. I felt pity for this poor creature who now has to contend with those noisy, man-made tubes rattling and ringing about his head. Not to mention that every time he lifts his head quickly (which deer do often enough), those tubular bells smack him square in the face.

Later in the day, as I arrived home from work, a familiar sound met my ears - the cheery sound of wind chimes...

And there he was, that unfortunate ungulate, happily feasting upon the apples from the neighbour's tree - chimes swinging and ringing merrily.

I've also noticed that his herd buddies are conspicuously absent...