Too many deer

I'm not a hunter, but if I were I think I would be tempted to start in my own back and front yards.

It is amazing how many deer we have eating out of our bird feeders and tracking through both the front and back yard, digging up the snow in an apparent effort to get to the grass.

In the spring and summer, the deer eat all the tender, young buds and stems on various flowers and flowering trees, leaving my wife to wonder why she goes to the effort. To keep the deer out of the garden and away from the young plants and tomatoes, my wife has to put the plants behind wire cages with tops on them.

With the snowfalls we've had of late, the deer apparently are hunting for food and tracking through neighborhood yards late at night to find whatever they can ... much to the chagrin of many neighbors.

I love to watch the deer, including when they're sleeping in our back yard or walking from the nearby golf course to the gully beside Parkersburg Catholic High School, but they do become a pain, which I'm sure is a feeling shared by many in Parkersburg.

It surprises me more of the so-called "city" deer aren't struck by cars and trucks. I guess city drivers just know the deer are out there and watch out for them.

But, at what point to the city deer become a safety hazard?