Pretty visitor in my front yard.
The conditions have been good for deer and wild turkeys to flourish in my area over the past few years. The oak trees are producing abundant acorns and the vegetation has been lush. At the same time, the coyote packs have proliferated and can be heard most nights in the surrounding woods. A Florida panther has been a visitor to my son's neighborhood over the past month and his dog is afraid to go out alone. My son lives about 25 miles from me as the crow flies. A number of pets are missing in his area, including his beloved cat, Tibby. I see a lot of animal tracks on the dirt road on my morning walks and they indicate that a lot a deer are crossing from field to field. One of the fields is planted in peanuts and I can attest from having my own garden stripped of peanut plants that deer love the green tops and eat them to the ground.
This youngster and its mother seem to live just across the fence from my yard. My neighbors don't maintain the back portions of their properties and they are overgrown with shrubs and small trees. I suspect that the deer feel safer from coyotes and panthers closer to human habitations and there is also a lot of available food and water nearby. It isn't unusual to see mom and youngster in the lane leading to my house from the main road. They are both good fence-jumpers now, so we usually don't see them for very long before they jump the fence and disappear into the woods. This particular day, the fawn was in my yard eating and allowed my granddaughter to approach within about 100 feet before bolting. The pictures here are by my granddaughter, Wanda Blake. Wanda is a person of many accomplishments. She is a registered nurse (ER and trauma) and a licensed massage therapist. She makes beautiful jewelry and has become an accomplished photographer. Photography may be her next profession, in fact. I think the young deer was as fascinated by her as she was by the deer.
