I had the sweetest moment with our deer the other day. I sat right on the edge of our sidewalk with my camera and just quietly sat with them and photographed them for about 45 minutes. I'm so incredibly happy that the new babies are now a part of the big guys and get to come eat with everyone. There are two babies that I'm certain of, but I think I spotted two more out in the field the other day. One of the babies from last season who is almost a full grown adult now comes so close to me. It was about 1-2 feet away eating. If there were not so many other personalities in the mix now I'm sure they would be eating out of my hand by now. But our heard has grown so much, usually having around 17 deer at one time, that when one gets spooked the others do too. And there are always deer in the mix who haven't gotten to know us, so it's a daily process to see them all mix together. Some days they are are cool and mellow and then others they are all fighting and kicking each other. The kick the shit out of each other too, it's crazy! But my heart is soooooooo overjoyed at having babies in our yard. There is nothing sweeter than a baby deer.
DEER FRIENDS
A little update on our deer friends. The babies have now joined in on the feeding. Just a few weeks ago their mamas kept them on the sidelines in the woods, but now they are letting them come hang with the big guys. They are so sweet. At first they were pretty timid and would run easily but now they are some of the first to run up and don't get spooked as easily. There were just two babies that came around but now there are three! I don't think my excitement of seeing the babies will ever go away. I hope they grow up to be our friends.
And of course with this many deer, in the Texas heat, there is bound to be some tension. I caught a few fights on my camera, but that one above tops them all so I'll just share that one. And we got our first male in the yard below! Look how stunning he is. He doesn't come around regularly, usually its just the females. He was pretty shy, but we've seen him a few times now. I just love his fuzzy antlers.
Last week I almost got one of the adult mamas to eat out of my hand. She ate next to me for about 10 minutes within 1-2 feet distance. It was so amazing. One day... it will happen!
And OMG!!! The best thing happened the other day but I wasn't able to photograph it, but when we walked outside to leave one afternoon I looked over and one of the baby deer was laying inside my teepee!!! It got spooked so I only saw it for a split second but it was the sweetest thing ever! I had told them that they were more than welcome to use the teepee, but didn't really expect to ever see on of them in it, much less a baby!!!!