A Deer with Many Faces

While I was sitting outside the barn yesterday morning, I noticed two deer walking up the trail towards the yard. The first deer moved on past me and went on up to check for fallen corn below the bird feeder. The second deer stopped about twenty feet from me.

She looks like she’s about to break into song. I honestly believe that some animals fail to identify me as a possible threat when I have a camera hiding my face. In an attempt to frighten away potential predators, some animals have a pattern that mimics a face. Removing the face may also remove the threat.

It almost seemed that the deer was enjoying the photo shoot. She certainly didn’t seem in any hurry to move on.

She must really be calm if she’s going to take the time to browse.

Her snack was temporarily forgotten as she watched a squirrel run down the tree next to the barn. She still doesn’t seem to notice me.

The other deer has found some cracked corn at the feeder, but this one doesn’t make a move in that direction.

If this was a person, I’d think she was intentionally making goofy faces. This photo is begging for a dialog bubble.

The squirrel just ran back up the tree.

A car going by on the road a hundred yards away is cause for some alert, but I’m still just a harmless lump sitting on the picnic table bench.

The other deer is leaving the yard by another trail and this one is preparing to follow. She provided a wide range of facial expressions during the two minutes we were together. I might have caused her to faint dead away if I had suddenly jumped up from the bench and shouted BOO!

A Camera Critters submission.