More Deer and Stuff....

Don't quite know what to say. Any caption that came to my mind did not do this picture justice. Mother Nature, you've done it again. Note the swollen neck (typical of a rutting buck...even more evident in the photo below) and muscled torso of this magnificent buck.

Odocoileus virginianus at its finest...same deer as above. He belongs here...the snow, the cold, the quiet mountains - his territory. Good luck ol' boy. We hope you have plenty of progeny to carry on the fight.

Another big buck. Photo taken last week. This one was trailing a doe. This deer walked - hesitated - walked...never ran. His mind no doubt on other 'things'. Woods a bit too thick for a clear photo. Spread of these antlers and tine length off the main beam impressive.

Very late in the afternoon. Camera made this young buck appear in good light. In actuality, it was almost dark. I had just come out of the deep forest via one of the trails...and this deer was standing near a pond. Was in the process of putting the camera away....and this opportunity came along. Probably about 18 months old.

Had to include this shot of a young deer standing in the rain. Quite a surprise. I was adjusting the camera settings and looked up to see this...standing only 20' or so away. Seconds later, the youngster ran into the woods - to be joined by mama and then the two of them raced away through the forest. I got the feeling watching them run that mama gave her baby a good talking to about walking so near Homo sapiens. Most likely the young of the year...about 6 months old.

Another spontaneous photo taken as darkness fell one day last week. There were seven deer, all does, in this group. Four of them appear here - standing at attention in the cold wind....alerted by the movements of the other three, which were moving around just to the right of this photo.

While on a photo session, had to take a moment to sit atop a rock bluff overlooking a noisy stream. Peace. Ah, said the old man....remember to keep your nose into the wind and your eyes along the skyline.