Mattress: King, Queen or Daylily Bed?

There is a romance to this photo that I want to share. This is the bed of day lilies at the cottage and for yet another summer, a family of deer have been sleeping in it every night. 

It starts sometime in July. After a season of growth, one day the plants are healthy and lush, the next morning there are distinct circles where each mother, father and baby deer has slept. The day lilies don't fluff up much during the day and the circles are even more distinct each morning. This lasts the entire summer. I have never seen the deer, but they certainly leave their mark.

Isn't it wonderful to think of them quietly walking into the yard, choosing their place and sinking into the cool leaves. Do leaves have a Sleep Number? Do the individual deer choose the same spot each night?

You may not have realized it, but this really is a BED of day lilies. Sleep tight!

Serta Perfect Daylilies

This is a post where you have to use your imagination a little.  Bring the fairy tale front and center and think of deer wandering through the yard in the twilight.

My parents have a large daylily bed in northern Michigan that has become "Serta Perfect" for a family of deer.  Can you see the dents?  It might be easier to see them if you look at the rim of the daylily bed.  See how it is fluffy and has many large grass-like fronds?  Now look into the center - nothing is upright.  Those are the deer dents.

At least 7 deer (I counted the dents) come in the night and sleep in our daylilies.  They really aren't eating the garden, we mostly notice their handiwork in the Spring when they devour the tulips.  During the summer, this is strictly a nighttime spot for them.  Isn't is romantic?

We often are awake until 11:30 pm, no deer.  And my mom gets up around 5:30 am on many morning, no deer.  Sometime during the moonlight hours, the family comes, nestles into the leaves and sleeps.

What sleep number do you suppose day lilies are?