It will be a week or two until the fields in Lanark have turned green, but at early morning and sunset, there are deer grazing here and there in the shadows along the edges of local farm fields and woodlands. Still in their winter coloration, the deer are almost impossible to see unless they move.I've always thought that young deer are as exquisite a motif for springtime as are baby rabbits and chickens, with their dark expressive eyes and soft noses, their inquisitive expressions.
Bucks lose their antlers in February and begin to grow a new set almost immediately, but for now the young are unencumbered. By late August, the new antlers are fully grown and covered in soft velvet which must be rubbed off on trees. For some reason, the chosen trees for such rubbing exercises here are usually poplars, and a good way to estimate the number of bucks residing on the Two Hundred Acre Wood is to count deer "rubs" in late summer and early autumn.
5 comments:
We have a light haze of green poking through the leaves. Deer are coming morning and evening to check for new plantings - the deer have a decided preference for the more expensive plantings. :)
They are so interested in everything and it is so fun to have them come around - except for my plantings :(
My contractor tells me that every morning when he arrives at the construction site of my smaller country home - the field is filled with deer and turkey. I will be so pleased when I can be there and post some pictures.
these gifts of nature make my heart sing! we have not seen deer here yet, but we will in the more rural areas. the "city" deer come out in warmer weather here and stroll through our neighborhoods! some even lounge beside a lake nearby and do not scamper off when walkers pass by only a few feet from them.
when we were in GA in late Feb where the weather was warm we saw so many deer at dusk as we drove down the long, private, winding road which ends at my father's home that we could not count them all. many deer routinely gather in the open fields there at night while others dart through the wooded areas. it is a wildlife retreat and a great thrill for us.
Our deer have had such a trying winter...our snow has been so very deep. I search for their tracks in the snow, somehow feeling good knowing they are still here, even if I rarely see them passing through.
Whenever I see deer I am reminded of their gentle existence and they beckon me to live more gently too. Lovely photos, as always. Thanks for sharing these glimpses of spring. Blessings!
Post a Comment