Thursday, October 22, 2015

The Insolence of Deer

Tate and Gunnar both have hunting licenses and deer tags this year.
Gunnar went out last weekend, on opening day, with Grandpa.
They saw no deer.
Nothing.  Zilch.  Nada.
*sigh*

Tate will be going out today, and Gunnar again tomorrow.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

I looked out my window and saw this...


Yes, right out our back gate...


That's a five-point black-tail buck.


No.
We can't shoot him.
Not here, in the city limits.


But Gunnar wanted to "practice" with an air-soft.
Of course, it's not very realistic,
because these deer KNOW they're safe.

After Gunnar stung him a few times, he shuffled calmly off to the other side of the bamboo.


Arrrrgh.
The insolence of deer!

Later that day, making dinner,
I noticed the evening sun dropping below the clouds,
making some beautiful colors light up.
Looking west...


Looking east...
Oh, look.  In the neighbor's yard...


Why, yes, that would be two more deer,
a doe and her fawn,
probably born this spring.


And up in another neighbor's yard...


... another doe.


The fawn was only slightly wary of me.


I got within about ten feet of him...


when he decided he'd better get closer to mom.


He has NO trouble with the fence that is taller than he is.




And guess who was sticking close to that doe...


Seems a bit early to be in the rut,
but he wasn't letting her out of his sight.

*sigh*

And what are the odds the boys will see ANY deer while they're out hunting?

3 comments:

The Hibbard Family said...

This made me laugh so hard that everyone came running to find out what was so funny! Those are smart critters, aren't they?

Sara McD said...

That gave me a nice chuckle. Thanks for that.

After having lived in NYC nearly all my life and then moving to a more rural area, I get such a kick out of deer and herons and other wildlife in the parking lot at the MALL!

In my particular "neighborhood" - just outside of town - the deer don't even seem to bother my garden. I think they just have so much more to eat that they can't be bothered. It's probably the same for why the hawks don't harass my chickens while my friends in the suburbs have frequent losses. I try not to gloat. ;)

When I moved here I hoped to see lots of wildlife up close and personal, but my friend in suburban Connecticut has had bears and even a bobcat (the animal, not the machine) right in her backyard, while I can't get closer than about a hundred yards before any interesting critter takes off. I saw the tail of a fox disappear into the woods today as I drove by, but that's about as close as I can get.

The white tailed deer here turn that ugly grey color this time of year and are a reddish brown in the spring and summer - do yours change color too?

Herding Grasshoppers said...

Not so much a change of color as a thickening of their coat. They can look really mangy in the spring when they're shedding it out - people will think they're sick, but they're not.

Glad to hear from you :D