Deer Diary
Before the District becomes known as Salt Lick City, officials in Rock Creek Park weigh their options for the future of man and deer.
Cover Story
Before the District becomes known as Salt Lick City, officials in Rock Creek Park weigh their options for the future of man and deer.
Photographs by Charles Steck
Many deer stalked Susan Davis' garden last summer, but one particular animal lingers in her memory. She was a doe of medium stature. The mother of two fawns, she liked to eat beets and found the whiff of Swiss chard irresistible. She loathed mint--wouldn't go near the stuff. She jumped high, ran fast, and pranced around the Rock Creek Community Gardens on Oregon Avenue NW as if she owned the place.
Identifying the mischievous doe was never a problem, in part because Davis has a keen eye, and in part because the dashing deer wore a fetching necklace--a leather collar, wrapped in yellow tape.
"We call her the Yellow-Collared Deer," says the literal-minded Davis. "Or, sometimes, the Deer With the Yellow Collar."
"She's totally fearless," adds Davis. "She has absolutely no fear of people. She has lived her whole life in this area. She definitely thinks the gardens are her territory."
But Davis had laid claim to the turf long before the Yellow-Collared Deer. Davis began tilling the earth at the gardens, on the outskirts of Rock Creek Park, 23 years ago, shortly after moving to D.C. For the first 13 years or so, the garden was deer-free. But then, about a decade ago, a doe and two fawns--the first of a long line of deer--stumbled onto the scene. Davis developed an immediate rapport with the creatures. They shared a common interest: Davis liked to grow vegetables, and the deer liked to eat them. ... Continued 
Issue of Apr. 12 - 18, 2002
News and Features
- Deer Diary
Cover Story - Blade Runners
The City - Ladies and Gentlemen: Your Kennedy Center Interns!
The City - The Dirty War
The City - Ticket to Ride
The City - No Pawn Here
The Mail - Check!
The Mail - Way Down South
The Mail - All Wet
The Mail
Columns
- Over the Pill
Cheap Seats - Sands of Crime
City Desk - Vagrant-Free Zone
City Desk - Red-Carpet Treatment
Loose Lips
Eats
Movies
- Christian Death
Film Review - The Naked Ape
Film Review - Big Trouble
Film Review - Changing Lanes
Film Review - American Adobo
Film Review
Music
- Chemical Brother
Music Review - Subterranean Grooves
Acts Locally - Refined Sugar
Music Review
Theater
- Beautiful South
Theater Review - The Blue Room
Theater Review - Hamlet
Theater Review
Arts and Events
- For Our Eyes Only
Arts - Nordic Tracks
Art Review - Crackpot on 42nd Street
Books - Back to the Future
Artifacts - Writing With Light
Artifacts
City Lights
This week's best in Arts and Entertainment.
- At the Controls
City Lights - Chicago Underground Duo
City Lights - Siouxsie and the Banshees
City Lights - Lani Guinier
City Lights - Henry Callahan, Kyi May Kaung
City Lights - Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years--Selections From the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum
City Lights - Poor Cow
City Lights - Billy Bragg
City Lights - Hasil Adkins
City Lights - Charlotte Ford
City Lights - Fito Paez
City Lights - Travel Writing for Fun and Profit
City Lights - Robert Pinsky and the Takacs Quartet
City Lights - Sue Graham Mingus
City Lights
Find an Event
Enter a keyword, select the type of event, and the particular day this week below.
Submit your event to the City Paper's Event Calendar.
Find a Restaurant
Enter a restaurant name, or select a cuisine and neighborhood below.
Find a Movie
Select a movie theater in the box below to see a list of all movies at that theater.
...Or view a full list of theaters, films, and showtimes.
Search Classified Ads
Post a Classified Ad
Search inventory on the City Paper's CarTango website:
This Week in
City Paper History
- Angels Without Wings
Oct. 2 - 8, 1998 - Fare Elections
Oct. 3 - 9, 2003 - Kicking and Screaming
Oct. 3 - 9, 2003
