Handsome fellow at my door today

[stevesno]

His neck is really swollen. He's a rutting!...Steve

 

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[Cruisin]

His color is really amazing. None of the other bucks around here are that dark & sleek. He's a beauty!

The bucks are certainly rutting right now. I'm very careful not to get too close to them. I saw one attack a stack of lawn chairs that we had turned upside down so the rain would run off them. I guess he thought those legs looked like they might be horns. He butted each one & flipped it into the air until he tossed it over the cliff. It was hilarious! He got rid of about 6 chairs that way. Unfortunately, I was no where near the camera.

Years ago my husband & I were walking past some bushes with our dog when a doe attacked us. We never even saw her! She landed on the dog & severely injured him. He was only about 6' from us. It was over before we even knew what happened. We were not hurt & the dog was OK after a trip to the vet for some stitches. That was a close one!!!

 

[Timberwolf]

Awesome pics...I love Bambies

Timberwolf

 

[Monty]

I was going to ask how did he taste, but that was before I read on. I hunt deer, always have and always will. But I still wouldn't shoot them in my front yard. And I don't hunt deer just to be killing something. Deer are very smart critters and more often than not I come home empty handed.. I let a hundred times more deer walk than I ever harvested. Where I hunt they are whitetail and are over populated. If they are not thinned out each year they wind up being hit by cars or become sickly and starve, often dieing from disease and/or predation by coyotes. I agree, they are beautiful animals and anyone who kills them just to be killing something is a sick individual. Every animal I harvest goes into the freezer and is consumed by me and my family. If I don't need the meat I donate it to the Salvation Army where it is served to the homeless and given to needy families. The local zoo takes many deer each year that are hit by cars and the carcasses are fed to the lions. Not much is wasted around here! I envy your home and the beautiful surroundings with its wildlife that seems abundant. Good for you for cleaning up that mess and shame on the prior tenants who should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Monty

 

[Cruisin]

I have absolutely no problem with people who hunt correctly & responsibly. I don't hunt but my family does & I've got venison in the freezer right now.
The people (I use that term loosly) who lived here before would shoot things just for the sake of killing something. I'm happy to have restored balance to this place.
I'm not sure if they still do it here but the road kill deer used to be put out in an isolated spot for the mountain lions. It keeps the lions eating their normal prey & hopefully they will leave dogs & people alone. It's a very good practice.

 

[Silver Searcher]

Great photos I envy your surroundings.

 

[gnewt]

Those animals seem to know they belong there, the expression in the pictures tells it all. I miss the farm and animals, I needed this, thanks, Gnewt

 

[Cruisin]

We live in the foothills of the Sierras south of Yosemite. We get lots & lots of wildlife on this property. In the past few days there have been mountain lion tracks here & at the neighbors. The lions always show up in January. Most of the deer have moved over to the other neighbor's house. I sure hope they stay safe! We're being really careful too.