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| Early-morning hikes can be beautiful! |
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| Looks can be deceiving. Here’s one of the swampy areas we trekked through. |
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| Montana posing with one of the fallen trees we climbed over. |
This past week, fellow intern Montana and I were assigned to a task that we had heard nothing about yet. Our fellow horticulture staff members called this job “walking the deer fence.” For anyone who has been on our grounds before, you may have noticed a tall, black, mesh fence surrounding the entire property. No this is not to keep anyone inside; it is mainly meant to keep deer (and other animals) out. The first part of the fence was installed in 2005, while additional pieces were added in the following years.
Almost all of our grounds are completely surrounded by this fence now, but that doesn’t mean it’s always foolproof. Animals sometimes manage to create large holes in the fence, or a big storm may knock trees down on it and cause major damage. That’s where we come in. Our duty of “walking the deer fence” is to make sure there are no holes or damage to the fence and, if there are, to fix it.
While getting ready to head into the forest, staff horticulturist Justin Nichols asked if we had boots to wear. Unfortunately, we did not. He assured us that we would be fine, though, because it would just be a “little” swamp that we would have to walk through. After using half of a can of bug spray, we were finally ready to brave the forest and make sure all was well with the deer fence.
Our walk around the forest started off perfectly fine. It was early morning and the sunlight was shining the most beautiful light on the scenery (see picture to the right). However, we soon realized that this would be no walk through the forest, but instead a hike of epic proportions. We had to hop over creeks using slippery stones, hike up very steep inclines, and shimmy our bodies over large logs. While the terrain in Maine is truly breathtaking, it can physically can take your breath away if you hike the trails like we did!
The trek around the deer fence took about an hour and a half to walk entirely. We had been walking for just about an hour and thought the worst was behind us. That was until Montana took a step and sank knee deep into swampy waters. How could we forget the swamp! The next half hour consisted of hopping from dry spot to dry spot, praying we didn’t sink into the muck again. Unfortunately, we sank many more times before making it out of the swamp, which left us with some very wet and smelly shoes. My staff name tag is also lost somewhere in that part of the forest and, trust me, I’m in no rush to go back to find it.
While very challenging, this journey through the woods was helpful on all accounts. We fixed the minor problems with the deer fence, we both got a great workout from the hike, and we got to see a whole new side to the garden. It may not be the most glamorous job, but it’s the least we can do to keep our garden safe from those pesky deer!
– Carrington Flatness, Horticulture Intern
