Spots Before My Eyes

I know! More deer! But, you'll soon see why I could not resist another post...

I walked into the living room, as I usually do when I get up and going in the morning, and looked out my window to see what was happening in my little world. A doe was standing in my back yard stomping her feet and making chuffing sounds. I wondered what was upsetting her, because that behavior usually means the deer sees or hears something that puts it on alert and also lets other deer in the vicinity know that something is afoot. I looked around to see what might be causing the disturbance, thinking there could be a coyote or dog or another person in the area.  Well, in this case, it turned out to be a call to alert her fawn that it was time to come have some breakfast.

This little spotted cutie came dashing out of the brush, across the yard and directly to the food source in a flash!

He was so excited that he kept moving his feet, dancing and flicking his tail as he nursed. Mom stood imperturbably watching the world go by, as if she wasn't experiencing a small energy eruption just beneath her!

The doe finally decided that she (and junior) had had quite enough and she backed away from him to browse around the yard, leaving him to do the same.

I watched him munching on weeds for quite a while (my yard has a lot to choose from in the weed category - I don't have anything like a golf course lawn). And yes, this young fellow is a buck. If you click on the picture for a larger view, you can see the little button antler bumps starting to emerge above his eyes.

Also, I now know exactly who is eating my gardens (I knew it was a deer, but now I know exactly which deer). I normally have flowers and foliage growing abundantly in garden beds around the yard and I keep finding favorite plants mowed to the ground and flowers nipped off at the bud.

Mom eventually wandered off, leaving Junior behind and when he finally noticed she was gone, he meandered on his way to join her - and probably take a nap with a nice, full belly.