The Homegrown Tomato Quest Continues

Growing tomatoes in our yard is such a struggle. I woke up to this scene recently.

It wasn’t a stormy night so, what had happened?

I suspected a deer.

They’re in our yard All. The. Time. munching down on whatever suits their fancy.

Not usually so close to the backdoor when they’re in the backyard.

I must have frightened them when I turned on the kitchen light and they got a whiff of Finn’s scent.

But where had the tomato cage gone?

It was too dark to explore, so I took Finn and Buster for their morning constitutional, came back inside, and had a cup of tea while I waited. When daylight arrived, I found the telltale footprint beside the downed bottle tree. Plus, a piece of the patriotic pinwheel that was mounted on the tomato cage.
I searched our front and back yard but found nothing.

Somewhere in our neighborhood there must be a deer with a tomato cage stuck to its body.

Or, a neighbor woke to find a tomato cage in his yard with a broken patriotic pinwheel attached. He probably scratched his head and said, “Huh?”

The pot has now been righted and the plant re-staked. Only two tiny green tomato casualties, thankful. Hopefully the survivors will eventually mature and produce Hubby-dear’s homegrown tomato.

But people, I tell you this quest is a REAL struggle. What can happen next?