I thought I spotted twin fawns the other day, but it turned out to be triplet fawns playing follow the leader. There must have been some sibling rivalry as none of them got too close to each other as they made their way down the driveway, across my lawn and down the path into the woods. They must have escaped mom’s watchful eye as I never spotted a doe near them.
First of Three
As the winter continues to hang on, I think the critters are fed up with it as much as I am especially this poor deer who has to eat sharp pine needles as there is no green grass or even my garden to eat.
Pine Needle Lunch
The robins have had their tails snowed on more than the required three times for spring to come. And the deer that I saw in the ditch looked skinny and probably would like to see the snow gone to be able to find something to eat which isn’t buried under the snow. These poor deer are up to their necks in snow!
Up to Their Necks in Snow
The summertime deer, like this buck with alters still in velvet, get chased by me on the lawn mowing or when I am walking my path to the pond, but today the deer were chased by men wearing orange clothes in an attempt to shoot one during the opening day of deer hunting.
Deer on the Run
When mowing this week, a doe with two spotted fawns came near me and although the lawn mower scared the fawns from time to time, they continued to eat the fallen apples. This deer was leaving the corn field, ready to cross the road to the apple trees and pond, until it spotted me.
Deer Waiting
Between the chipmunk and the deer, I doubt I will get to harvest much from my garden. And I can’t figure out the eating habits of the deer either since with plenty of green grass on the lawn, why would they eat the prickly, thorny raspberry canes.
Wandering Deer
After the new snow, I saw a lot of deer tracks across my lawn and the last several nights, I have heard them walking through the woods after the dark. But it is hard to take a picture of them in dark in addition to it being cold outside to try to wait for them to come into view, so it is easier to capture them in the summer time.
Deer Venturing Out
On my way home from church this evening, I had a deer cross in front of me but since it was after sunset on a cloudy day, the deer did not stand out against the bright snow. Instead the deer blended in with the brush and trees in the area where it crossed the road but it lived to see another day.
Wintertime Deer
Big doesn’t always win over the small, at least not in my yard later. The chipmunks are definitely winning the garden battle, but they are winning against the cats. Last night and this morning, my cat Trouble found a chipmunk but the popping, twisting and jumping chipmunk frightened the big tom cat so that it got away again!
And last evening, the doe made its daily appearance and although it encounters the cats most evenings, the deer still snorts and stomps her feet as it tries to approach the cat. But she never has gotten closer than five feet, and when Trouble moved a little bit last night, she went racing through the woods, snorting all the way.
Panicky Deer
I think the deer is like me and prefers the open grass before the snow yesterday and before it is covered again with more snow predicted for tonight.
Deer Looking for Grass
