Brothers

Here a couple of young bucks, antlers to come just bumps on the top of the heads, pause to take a look at passerby's on a trail in Coffee Creek.

Deer Herd

There were as many deer outside this picture as in---the ever growing herd of deer at Coffee Creek park. From the looks of it soon there will be babies.

Deer Favorite

This is my favorite deer picture and was taken in a fairly urban area along the Little Calumet River in Gary, Indiana.

He was grazing through the wildflowers along the river bank in early May and barely took notice to me and the camera.

Trudging through the Snow

This deer was following instead of fleeing down the path. It doesn't look malnourished. Maybe, like all of us around this time of year, it's looking for some spring.

Deer

One of many deer that scattered as I walked up, this one was intent on eating the forest understory and didn't go too far. The deer knows I'm still there but probably can't see me. Deer don't have great eye sight and have trouble seeing anything that isn't moving.

Affection or an Itch?

This pic from the archives has always left me wondering---is this love or just an urgent need to scratch?

Buck at Dusk

The days are getting so short that my walks sometimes happen at dusk. This buck was tremendously beautiful and adamant that he was not going to give up the trail to anything---especially not to a human with two little dogs.

Normally deer will run off. Sometimes you get one that will only wander off. This guy stood in the middle of the trail and hissed.

He wasn't moving. Every time I moved, he would stand tall and hiss. Sometimes he would move towards me as if to challenge.

I turned around and went back the way I had come. He was bigger and more obstinate than I.

Deer Dreaming of the Morn

SHERWOOD in the twilight, is Robin Hood awake?

Grey and ghostly shadows are gliding through the brake;

Shadows of the dappled deer, dreaming of the morn,

Dreaming of a shadowy man that winds a shadowy horn.

Robin Hood is here again: all his merry thieves

Hear a ghostly bugle-note shivering through the leaves,

Calling as he used to call, faint and far away,

In Sherwood, in Sherwood, about the break of day.

Merry, merry England has kissed the lips of June:

All the wings of fairyland were here beneath the moon;

Like a flight of rose-leaves fluttering in a mist

Of opal and ruby and pearl and amethyst.

Merry, merry England is waking as of old,

With eyes of blither hazel and hair of brighter gold:

For Robin Hood is here again beneath the bursting spray

In Sherwood, in Sherwood, about the break of day.

Love is in the greenwood building him a house

Of wild rose and hawthorn and honeysuckle boughs;

Love it in the greenwood: dawn is in the skies;

And Marian is waiting with a glory in her eyes.

Hark! The dazzled laverock climbs the golden steep:

Marian is waiting: is Robin Hood asleep?

Round the fairy grass-rings frolic elf and fay,

In Sherwood, in Sherwood, about the break of day.

Oberon, Oberon, rake away the gold,

Rake away the red leaves, roll away the mould,

Rake away the gold leaves, roll away the red,

And wake Will Scarlett from his leafy forest bed.

Friar Tuck and Little John are riding down together

With quarter-staff and drinking-can and grey goose-feather;

The dead are coming back again; the years are rolled away

In Sherwood, in Sherwood, about the break of day.

Softly over Sherwood the south wind blows;

All the heart of England hid in every rose

Hears across the greenwood the sunny whisper leap,

Sherwood in the red dawn, is Robin Hood asleep?

Hark, the voice of England wakes him as of old

And, shattering the silence with a cry of brighter gold,

Bugles in the greenwood echo from the steep,

Sherwood in the red dawn, is Robin Hood asleep?

Where the deer are gliding down the shadowy glen

All across the glades of fern he calls his merry men;

Doublets of the Lincoln green glancing through the May,

In Sherwood, in Sherwood, about the break of day;

Calls them and they answer: from aisles of oak and ash

Rings the Follow! Follow! and the boughs begin to crash;

The ferns begin to flutter and the flowers begin to fly;

And through the crimson dawning the robber band goes by.

Robin! Robin! Robin! All his merry thieves

Answer as the bugle-note shivers through the leaves:

Calling as he used to call, faint and far away,

In Sherwood, in Sherwood, about the break of day.

By Alfred Noyes---Sherwood 

Doe

This deer was showing herself  a bit more than usual in an attempt to draw attention away from her two small fawns that were traveling with her. With a hiss she sent the youngsters ahead into the woods and she stayed back to keep an eye on me.

Morning Doe

I am fascinated by just how poor a deer's eyesight is. Observing a deer is quite easy once you understand that a deer sees mainly movement against the background. By standing still you can observe a deer until it just wanders off.

Early Morning Buck

This buck with velvety antlers was reluctant to step away from a mound of corn left by a kind soul this morning.

He finally decided that the dogs and I were no threat and continued with his breakfast.

Camo

One from the archives; this deer was hidden in a field of leftovers from summer's wildflowers and lifted her head as I passed.

Sometimes I'm as surprised as the wildlife that I pass. Deer blend in so well with their environment that it often takes a trained eye to spot them even when they're close. Those spots on a fawn---a perfect match for dappled sunlight. And look how wonderfully the doe's white spots and brown blend with the wildflower remnants.  

Lean on Me....

Rarely do I see deer get as close as this. And I still think it must have been an itch that needed scratching more than a need to touch and be touched.

But it looks like love nonetheless.

Deer

This deer was scrounging through the snow for tidbits to eat.

This year has been kind to the deer with nice temperatures and, until lately, very little snow.

A Buck

This guy has been elusive. He's only around in the early morning as the sun comes out and runs at a moments notice---unlike the does that like to hang out at Coffee Creek.

Today he had a friend with him, also a buck, but shyer even than he was.

Dancing Dune Deer

In spite of the recent deer reduction days at Indiana Dunes there are several deer left.

This deer and some buddies were foraging on the top of one of the higher dunes. It couldn't quite decide if I was there or not. Maybe it is just a bit more nearsighted than its friends that disappeared shortly after I walked up.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Among my thanks giving I am thankful for the nature of Indiana and the hardworking people that manage the  wild areas that we have left so that little guys like these can still exist.

And I'm sure if these deer could talk they would be thankful that we eat turkey for Thanksgiving Day.    

Big Buck Escapes from Indiana State Park!

Yesterday the Indiana State Parks had one of their annual deer culling hunts. If they don't do this the deer end up eating all the forest underbrush and then starving to death---not a good way to die from what I hear.

And the big buck? Sorry I did see a beautiful, magnificently healthy buck that made Harry Potter's patronus look like---well like the deer in the picture.

But like 9 of every 10 pictures---the big, beautiful one got away.

Monday Morning Deer

Like the sight impaired creature it is, this tiny deer stood looking towards me and the dogs in the early morning sun.

The dogs like to pretend to be big hunters (couldn't be further from the fact) and so remained still and pointed the deer while I moved with caution.

This deer was no bigger than a Great Dane, and stood there for several minutes wondering if there was someone or something sharing that portion of the woods.

But then it started doing that thing with its mouth. This is the 2nd time in as many weeks that I've captured a deer making faces at me:

    

Monday Morning Deer

You would think, that those large eyes would be really accurate, but deer really don't see well. If you remain still and quiet they won't even see you. Their eyes are designed more to see motion against a background rather than detailed focus.