When we grew up kale and leeks were winter vegetables. While there are others these two could literally be left outside in the frost, kale in particular turns brown and becomes the ingredient of brown kale, a dish that is only served after the first frost occurs. Have you ever wondered if animals also have a seasonal food cycle? Upon some thought it is clear, that the plants they might eat are not always available – perhaps except for grass, which was at least by my estimation the prime source of nutrition for deer and elk. We have long learned that any flowers and nice looking (and perhaps also good tasting) plants are in danger all season long. Hence, we put chicken-wire cages around them all the time. We learned that lesson the hard way or better said by having to replace many plants multiple times. That learning path includes the realization that deer repellent and the designation of a plant as deer proof don’t provide reliable protection against curious and hungry critters. If there was one winter “vegetable” for deer and elk I can name, it would be arborvitaes. I remember we planted a whole row of them after we found a deal in one of the local stores. It was winter and we doug the holes in the snow. Potted trees are always tricky, since the process of fitting them into the pot relies on many roots being chopped off. They did well over the summer, much to our relief and no animals seem to particularly care about them. I don’t remember the exact date, but during the winter that followed one morning we came out and all bushes were eaten pretty much down to the trunks. To salvage what was left we fenced the whole row in. Many of the bushes recovered, some had to be replaced, and a per-plant cage was now permanent part of the installment. Just these days, as the first snow fell, we see deer puttering around the arborvitaes again! Turns out they are good learners – they were pushing our cages from one side to the other, so that some branches would stick out from the metal wire grid and then eat the branches. Upon closer inspection they must have been doing this already for a while, still the damage was not as bad as in the initial incident. We improved our setup by fixing the cages with stakes – now we are back in observation mode to see what our fellow furry friends come up with next.