INCREDIBLE
DEER
These
were taken at a home site in Mississippi .
Please
read the 4 explanatory paragraphs, and then look
at the amazing pictures!
Our
house was built in the deer's natural
habitat in a remote rural area. Well worn
deer trails cut through the property's abundant
pine and sage. The oldest deer we've met (we call
her Mama Rose) walked right up to us when we
first arrived, sniffing and looking us over.
We live in the middle of their foraging
route, and so it seems okay to sometimes
give them a few organic almonds out of our hands.
That's what we had on us when we first met
Mama Rose, and the habit's stuck. Rose and her kin
obviously think the yard belongs to
them
as much as anyone else, and they are just
taking advantage of the wealth of natural
foods growing everywhere. They especially like
clover flowers, but it's amazing to see the
variety of tasty flowers, leaves, twigs,
nuts and berries they'll eat. They stay away
from herbs and herbal flowers, but on
occasion we've seen young deer eating the
sweet medicinal berries of the Juniper tree.
Food is of course a major concern, but we
also think they visit because they like our
company. Often we see deer we don't know
nibbling
in the yard, but nearly every day some or
many of Rose's extended family come by. All of the
deer are likely to lay down on the grass and
hang out, whether we know them well or not. Many
of them know us personally, and while often
running into the yard to
greet
us with their quiet enthusiasm, they will
also swiftly shy away from strangers.
Although notoriously skittish, able to leap
meters in the air in an instant when
startled, a few deer we know, most notably Eva and
her
kids, will let us touch them as if we were
family, letting us scratch them or pick
something out of their fur. Eva even enjoys a
hearty backrub! We've certainly learned a
lot about how to act around them so as not
to disturb them. We think they appreciate our
efforts in fitting into their neighborhood.
