Beauty in the Backyard: Busted!

As you know, wildlife and I are pretty tight. The snakes love to hang out with me, although I've never been even remotely polite to them. The birds practically eat out of my hands, and the deer aren't even afraid of me anymore. Maybe they've found out what a pushover I am, so I'm the first stop at the backyard buffet. Since we're not allowed to feed the deer anymore, they just eat the birdseed and the compost pile. All of our shrubs are wrapped in burlap, and it looks crazy, but last year the deer and the rabbits made a mess of our landscaping. It's the country life. What can you do? Technically, we're living in their world.
We have several deer that come and eat at the bird feeders, so I keep my camera close to the windows. I often army-crawl through the living room to try to get as close as possible. You gotta do what you gotta do to get a great shot. A big telephoto lens would be great. Hint hint, Steve.

Mama deer takes good care of her kids, often stamping her feet at me. One time she kept walking toward the window, getting so close that I was afraid she'd charge me. I put my hands up and said, "I surrender!" That scared her pretty good. I wish it worked on the snakes!

You can't really see it well, but the birdfeeder actually has deer on it! So, I guess she thinks it's a "deer feeder". It's fun to watch them tunk it with their noses, watch it swirl around, then try to eat the fallen seed. It's like deer tetherball!

While I don't have a lot of time to stare out the window, I never walk by without taking a peek. Who knows when I'll see a bright red cardinal in the snowy pines...a chickadee getting a drink from the (heated) birdbath, a rabbit peeking out from under the deck...a giant hawk perched on the swingset...(not so good).

Thank God I'm a country (sort of ) girl!!