Common greeting phrase ’round these parts ’round this time of year. Deer are moving. Of course the reply is always, ” corn is coming off.” To citified folk that may seem a strange exchange, possibly even monstrously bad grammar, if you don’t realize that we country folk are talking about all local deer, the animals, not some family or a combine.
Of course, the answer; corn is coming off, implies that combines are moving. 1 But the exchange is a reminder to each other of two things. 1. Corn fields are being harvested and the deer that have been feasting are being shooed off, that makes them move around which sends them onto the roads more than in the summer. It is a reminder to watch out for deer crossing the roads. 2. Hunting season is near and if you see a deer worth noting, mention it to the hunters. Lots of meaning packed into a short, strange exchange. It is our way Darlings.
- whirring, growling and spewing chewed up corn stalks and leaves out the back so that the litter goes back into the ground to make more soil. You knew that. ↩