Though we reside in the suburbs, it sometimes seems as if we’re forging a future on the frontier, at least when it comes to outsmarting the critters that live here with us. Owls shriek in the woods, fox wake us with their eerie cries and — most important this time of year — deer forage in our suburban gardens. If they were just snacking on a few oak leaves we wouldn’t mind, but they go for the tenderest and most long-awaited plants. The hostas with their tall lavender shoots, the impatiens, the day lilies.

Last year they ate the buds off the lilies before they could bloom. This year we’ve had a secret, smelly weapon — a deer repellent spray, a “liquid fence” that keeps them away — and a few victories — a riotous crop of tiger lilies in the backyard and winsome clusters of impatiens by the front door.

But we’re not resting on our, er, laurels. We’ve spotted the herds of deer moving through the woods, nibbling everything they can find. We know it’s only a matter of time before they grow hungry enough and bold enough to strike again.