Have you ever wondered what deer and elk eat? Well, here in the Pacific Northwest, in the foothills of Mount Baker, if you live out in the country, all you have to do is plant a few trees, shrubs, bushes, and flowers, and you will soon find out.

We were so thrilled when we moved into our new home three years ago to see deer wandering through our yard from time to time. They are so beautiful and don't really seem too afraid of us, so we can get fairly close before they bolt.

We also knew there was a herd of elk in the neighborhood, because our neighbor had spotted them. Would we ever get a glimpse of them?

The first time we saw them was early in the morning, still dark, when our little doggie began growling. When we opened the door to let her out, there in the moonlight stood a huge male elk sporting a gigantic rack, looking straight at us. It was too dark to see his harem, the but next morning, it was obvious from all the tracks, that he was accompanied by a herd of cows. How exciting, right?

Well, before long, we began to notice broken branches on the flowering plum trees we had just planted earlier that year. The tracks and droppings left no doubt who the culprits were. Soon after that, we noticed that one tree in particular was missing branches, limbs, and bark and looking like it might not even survive.

Next we noticed all the flowers on a small shrub were gone, It eventually died. The elk also helped themselves to the leaves and apples from our fruit trees, and broke off the tops of two small pine trees and a beautiful, weeping shrub showcased in our decorative mound.

Now we weren't quite so thrilled about our furry neighbors!

The last time we saw them was just a week or so ago. I couldn't sleep for some reason, and throughout the night I kept hearing a high squeal I didn't recognize. I wondered if it could possibly be my neighborly elk friends. At first it seemed some distance away, but about 3:00 in the morning, I realized it was coming from my back yard.

Climbing out of bed, I looked outside and could see the silhouettes of a huge buck and several cows. I woke my husband and we walked out onto the deck to take a look..

I wanted to make sure they weren't too anxious to return to this address, so I clapped my hands loudly and in quick succession, and the whole elk herd thundered across the back lawn, through the field next door, and over into the trees beyond.

My husband was rather put out with me, because he was hoping to sneak around and turn on the porch light so he could get a good look at them, before scaring them off. Oh, well, I didn't know. They're gone now, and I don't know if they've returned since then.

Of course, their absence could also be due to the smelly bear hide my husband rubbed all over our little fledgling trees and hung in their branches. The Forest Service said that should do the trick.

But, in spite of my exasperation with these pesky creatures, I keep listening for them, hoping they'll come back for a visit, even if they don't stay for dinner.