Out in the woods next my office today I came across this deer skull (and other bones).
Tagged With: Deer
Deer and Heron
I went out to the woods next to my building this afternoon, towards the end of the day. After wandering around there a while without finding much of interest, I went down towards the tiny pond on the other side of the building and came across this white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and great blue heron (Ardea herodias) sharing the watering hole together. The picture isn’t great but I’m happy I was able to get a picture of both of them before the both decided I had ruined the party and they left.
Deer In The Snow
We’ve had a fair amount of rain lately. In fact, we had a really wet fall and winter so far. It normally rains more here in the winter months but, and I haven’t actually checked the specifics, this year seems worse than normal. There is still some snow, although the temperature has been above freezing. These two brass deer are in among Cathy’s potted plants at the top of our driveway. I like the way they are standing in the snow, looking out at the cleared portion of the drive. They seem pretty unconcerned by the cold. The forecast has a cold front moving in late tomorrow, with temperatures predicted to drop into the single digits tomorrow night.
White-tailed Deer
We were in the dining room finishing up dinner this evening. Dorothy has gotten home and I fixed Thai curry for her (and all of us). Dorothy noticed this deer walking across the back yard and I grabbed my camera. I figured that when I opened the back door she would run off but she only seemed mildly interested in my presence. At first she was behind a big bush but she wondered out and I was able to get a few pictures. Then she sauntered back across the lawn and into the neighbor’s yard.
Oh, Deer
Cathy and I took a walk in the park this afternoon, going about four miles in all, including a wrong turn that added a half mile or so to it. I took a bit of a fall early on, when the somewhat muddy path and the moss covering it allowed my foot to move sideways suddenly. I ended up on my back, having rolled to protect my camera and I laid there long enough for Cathy to get a photo of me. We saw that the bald eagle nest is occupied again this year, which is nice to see, even if it was too far away to get a reasonable photo. During our off-trail bit, after taking the wrong path and trying to take a short cut back we happened to see two white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), including this one, quite close but through the undergrowth.
Deer In The Yard
Cathy called me from the basement this morning as I was finishing up my breakfast. She had looked out the back window and seen these two white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) that appear to have spent the night in the pachysandra at the back of our garden. I took a few photos from inside through our not-so-clean windows and then risked opening the kitchen door to see if I could get any without the extra glass in the way. They looked at me as I opened the door and continued as I walked out onto the patio. They didn’t actually get up until I moved out into the lawn and even then they didn’t seem too concerned.
Eastern White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
In the preceding post, dated February 10, I said that we like to seem wildlife in our yard. Then I made an exception for deer. Today, we had a few eastern white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in the yard. I can’t tell you how much I’d love to get out my bow and arrow and shoot them. But I won’t, because that would be illegal. I actually know someone who once did that, shooting from his upstairs bathroom window. He didn’t have neighbors behind his house, backing on a park. Wrong, but pretty awesome at the same time.
More Deer
When I looked out the back door this morning I saw this trio of eastern white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in the yard. The appeared to have been there some while and were quite comfortable. They were only marginally concerned when I came up to the door and there were even pretty cool when I opened the door a little to get a photo without the glass of the door involved. When I stepped outside they stood up but I was half way across the patio before they calmly and quietly wondered off. They’re much too comfortable for my liking.
Fawns
We had two white-tailed deer fawns in our back yard today. As I post this two weeks after the fact, we’ve seen them together a few times, so as of yesterday (July 17) they were both still alive. With a busy road not too far away, we’re a little surprised, to be honest. When I first saw them and grabbed my camera, I figured I’d get a picture of them just before they ran away. When I opened the kitchen door to get the shot, however, they didn’t move, so I went outside and took another. Then as I walked out onto the patio, they actually came closer and got without about 15 feet before deciding that was close enough.
Growing Fawns
A month ago (see Sunday, July 04, 2021) I had a photo of one of two fawns that were in our back yard. Exactly one month later, the fawns are still roaming the neighborhood and we saw them in our yard again. They were slightly more alarmed by my presence than they had been a month ago but I was still able to get fairly close to them before they took off. As you can see, they are still spotted but the spots are less well defined and obvious. We’re slightly amazed that they’ve lived this long, being so close to a busy road with all its traffic. It’s nice to see them, but then, of course, they’re here eating our garden, which isn’t so nice.
Deer Skull
I took a short walk in the woods today, feeling like I really should get outdoors a bit more. When I’m working from home, I take one or two breaks during the day and walk around the yard a bit. When I’m in the office, however, I tend to put my head down and work straight through. That’s not quite true, because my day is often broken up by meetings, but I don’t make it a habit to get out. I probably should, especially when the weather is so nice. Just after getting into the woods today I came across this deer skull. I took a few photos and then on the way back out I picked it up to put in the yard. I’m not sure why but we seem to have a bone collection in the back yard.