Surprise!

Surprise, surprise. The little deer I’ve been seeing at the cabin is not one deer but two. This morning I saw the two of them together for the first time. The little deer on the right is the one I’ve seen (and nearly hit twice now) most often. When I look at the faces of these deer, I see quite a difference between them. That little guy on the right has more of a "cute" and fuzzy look than the one on the left, which has a rather graceful face.

Both the little deer appear to be orphaned, and I’m guessing that mom wasn’t around long enough to teach them any wariness. They have discovered my juniper bushes now and have been happily foraging on them for at least the past few days. Every day they grow more bold and less likely to run when I go outside.

Yesterday, I even suspected that the deer was (well, "were" now since there are two) sleeping under the cabin. The land was never leveled when the cabin was built. Instead, one side of the cabin is raised 3-4 above the ground. Anyway, yesterday morning when I opened the back door to fill the bird feeders, little-deer-on-the-right suddenly appeared right next to the cabin, sort of shook himself and wandered slowly down into the woods. The night before, I heard a large "bump" coming from the juniper bush beside the cabin and just off the front deck when I stepped outside one last time before bed.

For at least the past week, not a day goes by that I don’t see one. Sometimes it’s just a fleeting look. Sometimes the little fuzzy one will simply stand and stare at me. I see them out behind the cabin, in front of the cabin and regularly in the driveway.

They are chomping the juniper bushes because there’s little natural forage right now. Although the snow cover melted yesterday—a few patches are left—it’s still too early for new growth, even new grass growth, which will spring up with the first rain. Last year’s acorn crop was essentially non-existent. So the deer are hungry and taking advantage of what little they can find—in this case my two juniper bushes.

I’m not worried about the juniper bushes. They will recover in a few months time. I am sort of hoping the deer will move off as soon as the grass is green again. I don’t want to hit one, and they shouldn’t be as tame as they are, though I know I won’t have the heart to chase them off.