Deer Tracks

Lunch interrupted!

 One thing I love about snow is the way it records—though briefly—the comings and goings of furred and feathered friends around the property. This means I can tell when our local deer have been here, even if I don't get to see them directly.

Some mornings, their tracks snake all around and across the lawns, weaving around flower beds and garden benches. When the snow is a bit wet and the visit quite recent, their hoof prints are most clearly defined.

A double set of hoof prints.

Tracks aren't the only traces left in the snow. We knew the deer had been grazing in the middle lawn between the Coach House and the Coop because there were numerous little clearings where the deer had scraped the snow away to get to the tasty grass and clover underneath.

Deer clearings: the northern version of crop circles?

We always love watching the deer when they happen to come around during daylight hours while we happen to be outside or looking out the right window. Sometimes we'll see them every day for a week! Then we'll go days or even weeks without catching a glimpse and we're glad to at least see the signs of their activity and know they still share a home with us.