Snacking at the cemetery

When 82-year-old Carlton Barwise visits his late wife Margie's gravesite at Coeur d’Alene Memorial Gardens, he prefers the pot above the headstone to have live flowers.

So do a few hungry deer that frequent the cemetery, he believes.

Barwise, who visits multiple times a week, said the deer keep eating the flowers and knocking over the pot, located on the southeast end of the cemetery near a wooded area.

He said he saw as many as 10 deer near the gravesite when he was replacing some munched down flowers two weeks ago.

"They just keep eating the flowers right out of the pot," said Barwise, a Coeur d'Alene resident. "And pull them right out of the pot hanging on the hook. It's only about 15 to 20 feet away from the woods."

On Wednesday, two deer were spotted at the cemetery at 3 p.m. near the aforementioned headstone. Most of the gravesite flowers at the privately owned Memorial Gardens are currently artificial.

Bill Greenwood, the city of Coeur d’Alene’s parks and recreation director, said this hasn't been a common occurrence in the city’s cemeteries.

"I haven't heard of any complaints about deer eating the flowers," Greenwood said. "There are deer that come to the cemetery, but I haven't heard of them coming down eating all the flowers."

Memorial Gardens, located at 7315 North Government Way, is in close proximity to Dalton Gardens, where residents frequently complain about deer.

Not that Barwise is particularly steaming about this situation.

"I thought it was kind of a humor thing," he said. "I put the flowers out there, and they come and eat them right out of a cemetery."