Front-yard visitor

The other day I noticed all of my cats intently looking out the front window. It was strange that none of them were sleeping, so I assumed there was a squirrel party going on out there.

I was wrong. I'm surprised that I didn't hear growls, as my one cat growls at anybody approaching the house -- and he doesn't seem to know there's a difference between deer and humans. Or maybe he does, as he was a stray that lived in my yard for at least a full year before we took him in.

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In any case, this deer was quite close to the front window at first, but moved away a bit by the time I got my camera, then made its way down the sidewalk:

Completely ignoring all of my plants (for now), he seemed quite intent.

Ah, that's right: acorns!

He moved to the edge of my yard where the acorns have been falling from my neighbor's oak for a couple of weeks at least.

Acorns are a major source of fall and winter food for the deer, so I'm glad to see there are plenty around this year -- keeps the deer from sampling my shrubs and trees. Well, to some extent.

This guy browsed for at least 15 minutes until I opened the door to get a better shot and he decided to move into the back yard.

Although I'm not a fan of the damage the deer often inflict on the garden, I do get excited when I get a chance to see them up-close like this.

As long as they're just eating acorns.

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