Family of White-Tailed Deer

It had been a while since I stopped at Millbrook Marsh, and the morning was shaping up to be a strange one, visually speaking, with the warmer temps and melting snow creating some amazingly dense and interesting ground fog.

As soon as I got onto the boardwalk, I looked to my right to snap a picture, and there was a white-tailed deer, standing right in the middle of my scene! I watched it for a while and took some pictures; then it slowly and cautiously moved off into the bushes, where I discovered a second deer was waiting.

I continued walking along the boardwalk. Around the bend was the wooden bridge over Thompson Run. A great spot to watch for waterfowl. This is the bridge where I usually look for the kingfisher, who hoots and hollers his raucous greetings from a tree just down the creek a bit.

On this day, it was a great spot to stand and watch for deer! As I turned to my right, the whole family - the two deer I'd already seen plus a younger one - stood there looking at me.

The one on the right was the first one I had seen. It was larger and stockier than the others, and I presumed it might be a young buck, though I saw no sign of horns.

The one on the left was clearly a doe; within a few minutes she walked over to the younger, smaller deer (in the middle) and began bathing it. The young deer displayed the universal "Aw, MAWWWWM, did you HAVE to me a SPIT-BATH in public?" face. Then it returned the favor, nuzzling her ears . . . a little lick-lick-lick.

I've seen the pair of adult deer at Millbrook before (and I actually got a photo of one of them on an early August visit), but not the young one. It's clearly not a fawn, but might be a yearling come springtime. They were very affectionate, and I thought they made a lovely family.

I walked further down the boardwalk and shot some more pictures in the weird fog. Fog and mist are just outstanding for making the everyday look strange. I jump at the chance to go out with my camera on a foggy morning.

When I came back along the boardwalk just a few minutes later, I encountered a young woman with a black labrador retriever. The dog was not on a leash (despite numerous signs indicating pets must be leashed and cleaned up after) and was clearly having a wonderful time.

However, it also chased some waterfowl, who splashed into the creek and made their getaway. I imagine their conversation went something like this:

Dog: "I'm a retriever! I'm a retriever! You're ducks! Stay still and I'll retrieve you!"

Ducks: "Heck, no, we won't go! Retrieve somebody else, retriever-boy!"

The deer heard the dog before I did. Ears perked, they looked worriedly in the direction from which the dog eventually came. Then they turned, and with the flip of three white tails, they disappeared into the brush.

A song to accompany this picture: the haunting Now We Are Free, by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard, from the Gladiator soundtrack.