The Friendliest Deer

The deer and rabbits have gotten comfortable enough with my presence on this land that one doe hung out for 20+ minutes and got within a dozen feet of me, unafraid.

NATURE, Walks & Observations

I have this thing that I do to set the deer and rabbits at ease, so they don’t run away when they see me. It’s sooooo simple: just DON’T act like a predator — be more interested in the PLANTS than in THEM…! LOL, :wink:

Over time, the deer and rabbits have gotten used to my presence on this property where I live during the warmer months. The BIRDS have started scolding me since my Mate accidentally broke one of their nests… but that is another story altogether. :sniff:sniff:

So it is no surprise when I see a deer and it does NOT run away. Or a rabbit… or several rabbits, lol. BUT THIS DEER, THIS DAY… She just kept coming CLOSER, until she was about 10 feet (3m) from me, just looking calmly at me, and me at her. It was lovely. She hung around for maybe 20 minutes, with each of us occasionally watching the other, then returning to focus on the plants of the field… and eventually she made her way to the edge of the neighbor’s mowed yard. She did lots of tail flipping, but never once looked back at me, perhaps 18 feet behind her. I felt kinda privileged, and definitely blessed. :D

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The pics are in chronological order. She slowly meandered across this one field (it was the barnyard with cows in it, when I was a kid) and back again, grazing and watching me with curiosity but almost no fear. Therefore I dubbed her “the Friendliest Deer”. :wink: