Fawn (Not Hall)

The first day I was in Ohio, I'm walking down this path through a field. I stop to take a picture of a flower, and I hear a squeaking noise beside me. I look down into the foot-high grass and I see something brown. I lean over to get a better look, and this fawn jumps up and takes off for the nearby treeline. I squeeze off a few frames, but the little thing is moving so fast and I'm so surprised that I don't get anything really good. These three shots are the best ones of my close encounter of the deer kind. You never know what you're going to run into.

Live At The Cleveland Zoo-Deer

Since I am celebrating Christmas in July around here, maybe it's time I bring you a picture of a deer from the Cleveland MetroParks Zoo. I didn't get any really good pictures because this guy was busy trying to get into his shelter out of the rain, but the door was closed and locked. Poor thing. I originally thought this was a reindeer, but I think I was mistaken. Looking at their website closely, I think this is a Thorold's Deer. I really should have paid more attention to the signs at the zoo...

Doe, Dough, Doh!

While on the little tram tour at Myakka, we came across these three deer hanging out near a power line. They conspired against my getting a clear picture of all three of them together without that guy wire in the way. They didn't seem to be at all concerned with our presence, only occasionally looking our way when the driver would make a clicking noise trying to get their attention. They eventually wandered away and we continued the tour.

Deer Season

I don't think I've mentioned the deer that I spotted in California. I had hoped to spot a bear or two, but I got deer instead. I'm not complaining, mind you. I spotted the spotted fawn above and the two does below in Muir Woods. They were obviously used to humans, since I was less than six feet away in both cases. It was amazing to be able to walk so close to these seldom seen creatures. The doe at the bottom was in a field in Yosemite. As we were driving out, I had just mentioned that it was the time of day you might see deer emerging from the woods to feed, and sure enough, there she was. There were some other yahoos in the field trying to chase her down for whatever reason, so I never got very close.

Deer Three

Did I mention I saw some deer in Ohio? Yep, I saw some deer in Ohio.

Deer Me

I saw plenty of deer this time in Ohio. There were some on the way in from the airport, some in people's yards, and these in the woods at Bedford Reservation. There was a third one in there somewhere, but he didn't make it into this picture. Well, she didn't, I mean.

The First Three Days In June

Once again, I forgot to post a picture yesterday on the first day of the month. So here I am trying to make up for it. This is the calendar page for the three days of this week that happen to fall in June. I spotted these deer running across a golf course in Ohio, and barely had time to squeeze off a shot before they were gone. Look closely and you can see the person on the lawnmower keeping a wary eye on these animals.

A Doe Or Two

Somehow, I shot two deer today. I guess that makes me luckier than most hunters. I've only seen deer in Florida less than half a dozen times, and never when I was out shooting, but today I got lucky, and saw these two does. (Yes, yes, I did see and photograph deer in Ohio, but that's not nearly so exciting to me as seeing and shooting them on my home turf.) They were about half an hour apart, and over a mile separate, so I'm pretty sure it's two different deer. Both times they just looked at me, and slowly walked away. I think they were coming out of the woods to get a drink from the nearby river. With the dry winter and spring, many of the water holes they would normally frequent are all dried up. I found these ladies in Myakka River State park today, which I visited after Oscar Scherer. I've got plenty more pictures from both locales, so it should be a good week to hang around the blog.

Doe, A Deer (A Female Deer)

On the very last day of my recent adventures in Ohio, while in the van on the way to the airport, I finally spotted a deer. I saw three, actually, way off the road behind a thick stand of trees. Not the best situation for a picture, as you can see. It didn't help matters any that there was a well lit clearing behind the animals, making it that much harder to get a shot. But this is what I got. The other ladies were sitting on the ground, and I couldn't get them in the shot. At least I didn't strike out completely this trip.

Yes, Deer

Did I mention they have a lot of deer in Ohio? I spotted these guys running across the back nine at some golf course in the Cuyahoga Valley. I spotted deer about 5 times during my trip, but only one buck. They're wiley little critters, so I had a hard time getting any photos. Most of the time it was late in the day when the light was poor. These golfers were out at around 11 am, so I had pretty good light for once. They kept running back and forth for no good reason, ignoring the human golfers on foot and in carts, as well as the large mower you can see at the right.