Finally, Deer in the Daylight!

In my December 9th post I told you about deer visiting the yard late one afternoon. I was disappointed that I wasn't able to get a decent photo due to the early sunset that left us almost in twilight. Dave installed a sensor with a bell that would ring in the house to alert us if the deer returned to the back yard.

I thought I would surely get an opportunity to take a good photo. But the days were still growing shorter. The deer would arrive at dusk, midnight, and before dawn. Usually, there were three: two larger ones and a small one. Using the nighttime binoculars, we watched the three. Occasionaly, there would be more. We never saw a "herd" because they visited late at night and in the wee hours of the morning. It could be that a couple of small groups visit throughout the night. Sometimes there are tracks coming from the driveway as well as from the woods. The high number of tracks leave no doubt that there were many more than our regular three!



Yesterday afternoon, my grandson, Zach, was in his room doing homework. Suddenly, he came running down the hallway shouting to us to go to the kitchen window - there were six deer in the woods heading towards the pond. (Since he placed his desk facing a wall, how he saw the deer while doing his homework is a mystery for another day. LOL) My son, Kevin, was here at the time, as was Keely. We all watched three of the deer walk to the far side of the pond and cross it; the other three remained in the woods. It didn't take the three long to find the deer feed buried by the new snowfall the night before. Finally, I got some fairly decent photos of the deer!

While I'm very happy with my photos,which are still a bit dark, if you want to see some excellent photos of deer, visit Renie Burghardt's World In addition to the deer in the side bar, scroll down to see the delightful photo of a deer "scratching an itch"!

Most Welcome Backyard Visitors

Wednesday, my grandaughter Keely called to me and my grandson Zach in a hushed sort of voice. I went out to the kitchen and she was standing like a statue by the window that looks out on the back yard. She whispered for us to slowly come to the window. There in the backyard were two deer. One was very large, the other smaller. They were eating some of the branches on a pine tree. I took a picture of the smaller one but it didn't come out very well. The screen was still in the closed window, so it made for a blurred photo.



The deer actually seemed so much larger than those we usually see. I think that is due to the fact that we only see them in the late spring and summer. On those rare occasions when they come to the back yard, they are usually partially hidden by foliage. They don't stay long. Usually we spot them across the street at the far side of the baseball field. Again, they don't linger.

Wednesday was different. We watched them for a good 10 minutes. They wandered from the far side of the pond to the other end of the house. Slowly we made our way to the bedroom facing the woodsy area at that end of the house. It was dusk and snowing, but we had no problem watching them. They were beautiful. Finally they made their way to the woods across the street. I managed to get one picture in which, if you look carelfully, you can see them. The sky had darkened by this time and it is reflected in the photo.



Dave told a co-worker about our adventure. He suggested a feed that we could put out to attract the deer back to the yard. Dave bought it. It smells good enough to eat. It looks similar to granola. Dave had put some out Friday, Saturday and today. There are all kinds of deer tracks in the area. Each morning when he checks, all the feed is gone!

Today he put a motion sensor out there that beeps softly in the house whenever disturbed. Hopefully, we will get to see them again and get some good photos. (Yes, we took the screen out - finally. LOL).

Zach, Keely and I were enthralled watching them. They are so beautiful. It was a wonderful experience for us to share. With a little luck, we will have more opportunities to see these beautiful and most welcome backyard visitors!