I promised you another cool critter encounter at the
beginning of the week, so here we go!
We were seeing quite a few deer in our yard on a daily basis
since they left their winter yard in Eagle River this spring. They seemed to
feel very comfortable living with us - not easily spooked. After the leaves popped
out on the trees and things started growing in the woods again, the deer
suddenly stopped visiting us. Steve reminded me that many of them were also
giving birth about that time. One afternoon - about a week ago - this gal suddenly
showed up.
She came out of the woods hesitantly and made her way over
to one of the bird feeders.
She seemed quite cautious and only stayed 5 or 6 minutes
before going back into the woods.
She returned 2 days later - about 9:00 a.m. - for a
15-minute visit - and went straight back to that bird feeder.
By the way, do you see how she's shedding her winter gray
hair? Her coat will soon be a beautiful reddish tan.
After working on that feeder for a while, she went across
the yard to another feeder - stopping for a quick sip at the bird bath.
The second feeder was too high for her, so she made do with
what she could find on the ground nearby.
Then, it was back across the yard again for another go at
the first feeder. She was definitely not at ease - on high alert and soon headed
into the woods. . .
pausing only for a quick snack along the way.
I mentioned to Steve (the deer whisperer) that she seemed
very skittish. He said she probably had a fawn nearby.
Sure enough! Steve was in the house for a bit that
afternoon. When he headed outside through the garage door, he saw her again on
our driveway - with her fawn! They hightailed it into the woods when they saw
him.
We didn't spot her again until that evening when we were
eating dinner about 6:00 p.m. I looked up from my plate and noticed her back at
the bird feeder - without the fawn this time. Since I often try to have the
camera nearby when we're eating, I snatched it and snapped a quick photo. Sorry
about the sun glare on the window.
Neither of us saw her on Wednesday, but we knew she had been
around in the evening when we were in Calumet. When we got home, the shepherd's
hook was bent over again - and we knew it had been straight when we were eating
dinner earlier.
Well, the best sighting happened on Friday. Steve was in the
barn when Mrs. Deer walked by the barn window and the barn door - with her fawn
tagging along behind her! He grabbed his cell phone when they got out of sight,
called me and told me to be on the lookout for them. I snatched my camera
again, headed to the windows in the dining area, turned around to glance back
through the sliding doors in the great room - and look who I saw heading across
the yard!
Mama's legs are a lot longer and more steady, so the fawn
had to occasionally scramble to catch up. So. Stinkin'. Cute!
I said to myself, "Why not take a video?" Of
course, that's when Mama started heading up the hill on our 2-track back into
the woods, but I got a little of them anyway. Click on the link below:
Mama licking him! Wasn't that precious? I was torn between
whether I should continue to video or move back to photographs. Photos won out,
as they use less of my monthly data allowance to upload to the blog. I was able
to document what happened next. The fawn tried for a little refreshment. . .
before looking around a bit.
Then, he headed into the undergrowth. . .
and Mama seemed to tuck him in for a nap. . .
before coming back down the 2-track alone.
She cut across the hillside and walked across our driveway right in front of our garage.
That's when I lost sight of her from the house. I called Steve back (still in the barn) and alerted him to her whereabouts. He looked out the side barn door - but couldn't spot her. She must have moved quickly out of sight.
We haven't see her since. But, we did see a wolf! Yikes! Wolves eat fawns!
Steve retrieved his cell phone from his nightstand to make a phone call on Saturday before heading outside. As he came out of the bedroom with the phone, he glanced out the sliding doors. There was a wolf - a BIG one - just inside the tree line of the woods at the back of our yard - and it was skulking toward our 2-track. Yes, the same area where the fawn had been hiding/napping the day before!
Has the wolf come across Mama and her fawn? I wish we knew. Needless to say, we're hoping to see that precious fawn again very soon. Maybe today? I'll keep you posted.
All is well in the Keweenaw.
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