Monday, June 27, 2011

Her Evening Stroll

(Click on the thumbnail for the bigger, better version)

She appeared to be aware of me on the other side of the glass, but certainly not in a panic. Instead, she stood calmly for a few seconds watching, listening, testing the wind and did all this with the fading evening light in the eye closest to me. I dared not move, standing there in the bedroom looking through the window. It was a sweet moment to savor. Yet, it was a brief one and she was long gone before I had had my fill of the visit.

We don't see many deer close to our house these days. I remember how ecstatic I was the first time a doe wandered almost onto our porch. But, that was in the days before we moved in and the house had sat empty while we stayed in Los Angeles trying to sell the property there. After moving in fences, horses, and even a dog with a bark that can split atoms, plus all the human smells with which we litter our little landscape, the deer mostly keep their distance as long as there is light. They still roam close to the house during the night. We know about their nocturnal visits by the look of the plants out front.

10 comments:

  1. Glad she stopped by. Maybe she will make another visit and stay a bit longer. I realize how much of an impact we have made to wildlife whenever I drive along the outskirts and sometimes within the city limits, of any city or town and see warning signs for deer. Enjoy your day!

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  2. Maybe you need to step up your technological game and rig up some motion sensors and a camera so that you can get those night shots! :)

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  3. There is a perfect catch light in the eye that is so important in wildlife photos. I would guess that there is not much that this animal isn't aware of in it's environment. I know how difficult it is to get good shots like these, I've tried but I've had little success (bugs notwithstanding). My hat is off to you, lady.

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  4. Nice capture, Anita -- it's not everybody that can corral deer. The light's very nice in this shot.

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  5. Monte - Thanks for your comments. I never get enough of admiring the deer.

    We see the wildlife here, because there have been laws against hunting here since the communtity formed. Still, cars take a toll and I'm confident that there are many fewer animals now than a couple of decades ago.

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  6. Paul - Thanks for the smile. You know what a sucker I am for jumping at a "what if I...". But, I think I will pass on this temptation. Still, it would be keen, wouldn't it? What the heck? It doesn't hurt to fantasize.

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  7. Ken - Thank you so much for the kind comments. I was taken aback when the doe posed like that with the light in her eye. Wouldn't it be lovely if animals always did that for us? Alas. It's rare. Maybe next time she will come closer for me. Hmmm. I guess I shouldn't get my hopes up.

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  8. Earl - It does look as though she if in a corral, doesn't it? There is a passageway between our small fenced dog yard and the back horse pasture. The doe had two escape routes. Not to mention that she could have popped over those fences without turning a hair.

    Thank you for your comment.

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  9. I also have several deer who graze at will in our garden every evening. They sure love to eat, especially the roses.

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  10. Steve - Great to hear from you! Yeah, I think rose bushes must be to deer what chocolate is to some of us humans. Planting the rose bushes with deer roaming about is just asking for frustration.

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Anita