Another visitor

I happened to look out the window in passing on Monday and noticed one of my rose bushes moving, shaking back and forth. I couldn't see what was going on, but I had my suspicions.


I typically wouldn't have been able to see that rose at all from the window, but since I removed that bamboo from the planter box I have a temporary clear line of sight. The above photo is indicative of the views I normally have.


***


Notice anything in that photo that would explain my animated rose?


Yes, it's another deer! What is it with the middle-of-the-day deer visits lately?


This one is older than the first one I posted about, but he seems just as comfortable in my yard as the other was.


In fact, he's too comfortable, but I'll get to that in a minute. In these next two shots he moved behind a cloud of steam from the clothes dryer, so I went heavy with the artistic filters because I didn't want to throw these blurry, steamy shots away.



Deer, bananas, and bamboo -- a natural combination?

At this point the deer moved out of sight, and I expected he was going to the front of the house (where the acorns are), so I moved to the front windows and couldn't find him. Then I caught a glimpse of antlers as he went toward the driveway in front:


That's the other side of the house -- how did he move so fast? I then saw him moving into my neighbor's backyard, so I thought my photo opportunity was over. I put away the camera, walked back to the living room, and saw him again. How is he moving around so fast?


Of course I finally realized that there were two deer out there! One that was doing a lot of walking, and this one that was happy just to munch on roses and take a little break:



Like I said earlier, he was much too comfortable!

It looks like he may have something wrong with him, as his eyes don't look completely healthy. Is the reddish hair on his head normal coloring, or is it blood?


In any case, he had a little rest and moved off shortly after -- I didn't watch him for more than a couple of minutes.

Although deer do a lot of damage to many people's gardens, in my yard they only nibble roses once in a while. Is it because I have so much variety that they just take a bite here and there? Is it the sacrificial Euonymous I have growing back there that they focus on?

Whatever the reason, they don't bother my garden too much so are welcome to visit.


I prefer seeing them napping here rather than feeding though.

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Anonymous –   – (November 7, 2012 at 9:31 AM)  

Hey Alan,

It is breeding time for whitetail deer in your area. Daytime activity peaks for bucks at this time. They are all over the place scent-checking for estrous does. They also frequently fight each other during this time ... sometimes to the death. Eyes are often "put out," and blood is not uncommon at all in the facial area. You probably have an estrous doe somewhere in the vicinity of your house. Bucks slow down their feeding tremendously around this time and will often lose a significant percentage of their body weight from the constant effort of searching for estrous does. Those are 2.5 year olds (maybe 3.5). It's hard to tell without a full side profile of their bodies. Great pics!

Take care, -jeremy

Salty Pumpkin Studio  – (November 7, 2012 at 10:01 AM)  

Great photos, and a fun to read post
Thanks for sharing

Dew  – (November 7, 2012 at 11:26 AM)  

Wonderful, Allen. It's considering God's willing that you can view the deer at such short distance. If in my country, I doubt they will end up in "soup"..
By the way, it's so beautiful.

Dew  – (November 7, 2012 at 11:29 AM)  

It made me "chuckled" by the way you described your ROSE!!! as I love to see the real rose.. hahaha..

Alan  – (November 7, 2012 at 11:33 AM)  

Jeremy: thanks for the great information! (Yes, we have plenty of estrous does around I'm sure.)

Dew: I used my telephoto lens, so I didn't need to get very close -- just took photos through the windows.

Hoover Boo  – (November 7, 2012 at 1:30 PM)  

Wonderful photos! A telephoto lens is on my wishlist now.

If you find dropped antlers later on, they make great dog chews.

Alan  – (November 7, 2012 at 5:52 PM)  

Hoover: I'd be so excited if I found antlers. They'd get mounted decoratively for sure!

Wolf  – (November 7, 2012 at 8:47 PM)  

It's rutting season, so likely he got in a battle with nother buck. Hence the bloodied fur and dazed look. Those fights can be quite vicious.

And loud. Heh.

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