After the sunflower got chewed on, I left it for a couple of weeks intending to prune what was left of the main bud. I waited too long, whatever picked at it came back and finished it off about a couple weeks later. I was surprised that there were NO remnants left of the bud, not even on the ground! Nothing! What ever it was picked it clean, no leftovers!
Fast forward to today. Reading the morning paper, I was surprised to see this picture. I couldn't find it in the online version, so I scanned it. Where the sunflower sits, it's possible for a deer to reach down and chew on it w/o stepping in the soft dirt of the bed and leave an obvious track, and the surrounding area is a gravel parking area. I honestly did not think there were any deers in this area, I was wrong. But I'm still surprised that I have not seen tracks in other areas of the property, particularly the side I've been working on. I'm out there everyday and it can be viewed from the kitchen and living bay windows. I have not seen any tracks.
It is possible that it wasn't a deer, since whatever chewed on the sunflower left the rose next to it alone, but there aren't many flowers on it, 2-3 at any one time.
