The Whitetail Buffet

At first I thought these sturdy hostas were victims of errant trimming, but then I remembered they are a favorite of our cloven-hoofed daily visitors.  The plants grow back in as quickly as they are eaten, and then they're eaten again -- symbiosis.

Unfazed

This morning I had company creekside.  This little guy neither retreated nor froze, but rather carefully regarded me, tilting his head and swivelling his bright eyes to look into mine.  I wondered at his lack of skittishness.  Perhaps the safety of his portable home engenders confidence.

Shifting Habits

Time in the creek is a reward normally squeezed in at the end of the day.  Showing up after morning coffee instead reveals a different world.  In the early quiet, the deer are sleepy after a full night of foraging, and have let their guard down.  They don't notice me until I'm close enough to make eye contact.  Then, with a flash of white and a crash of leaves and twigs, they are gone.

A Deer's Eye View

If I remember to look, almost every day around twilight several deer walk across the back edge of our property -- between the fence and the creek.  They are well camouflaged, but as they calmly walk across, their movement is eye-catching.

This photo is taken from the vantage point of the deer, looking over our fence up to the house. This is what we look like to them.  The vertical spindles of our screen porch are barely visible.  I'm glad we blend in.  Once the leaves fill in, they may not see us at all.