A buck in rut in the lower field.
As I sat down to paint this morning, movement in the field on the other side of the pond caught my attention. The distance, about 250 yards, from the window was a bit far for a nice shot. Tim and I quietly slipped around the south side of the dam, then belly crawled to get within 100 yards. This nice black-tailed buck in rut was watching a doe by one of the lower ponds.
The doe he was fixated on. She is pretty, can you blame him?
The buck stares longingly at the doe. He did not notice us at all.
We must have been a sight, laying on our bellies, in the rain soaked grass, stalking the deer for a photo. The buck did not notice us at all. He was captivated by her scent. She was nervous, people crawling through the grass and taking aim her way was more than she could stand. She bolted up the hill and over the ridge with him in hot pursuit.
Gotta sneak bliss when you can, even when people are watching.
When she fled to higher ground, he pranced after her.
They paused for a moment.
I predict twins in the spring.
Sneaking Bliss 
Wonderful photographs!
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Thanks. Long lens and patience. Would have been nice to have more sun and a lower ASA, I mean ISO, but you take the shot you get with the light you have. Dating myself with the ASA comment. 🙂
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Great story! Thanks for sharing it and your photos.
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It was like getting a little gift to start the day. Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
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Haha! This is wonderful, I love the last caption at the end. I live in a more ‘town/city’ area so unfortunately I tend to miss out on such sightings, thanks for sharing.
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We live in a rural area, not too far out of town. This is where people go for their “Sunday drives.” We love where we live. 🙂
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you say it must have been a sight … I say totally romantic to be crawling on your belly with your husband through the grass watching this beautiful scene. Hope you got to sneak a kiss or two with your fellow. haha.
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🙂
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😉
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How lucky you were! Great post.
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A wonderful distraction.
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Magical moments.Thanks for sharing!
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Reblogged this on THE FORESTER ARTIST and commented:
I had a log of fun with Mary when she shot these fantastic pictures!
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This is a very privileged encounter! It bring us a breath of fresh air from mother nature, thanks so very much for sharing 🙂
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you’re welcome 🙂
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I’ve nominated you for the “Family of Bloggers” Award.
To see the nomination, visit http://anotherlovelyday.wordpress.com/2012/12/13/overdue-thank-yous-awards-and-a-little-winnie-the-pooh.
Thanks so much for your support and your blog which is a true and inspiration.
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Nice story and great pictures…thanks for making my morning!
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Thanks, they sure made our morning as well.
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Pingback: Behind The Scenes | THE FORESTER ARTIST
hmmm….”behind” is right.
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Really lovely!
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beautiful pictures, would make a unique drawing or painting. especially the fourth or fifth pics.
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Thanks, Tim and I were discussing paintings while we were reviewing them.
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You captued well the Attraction and the action – beautiful post!! Great Photos too – perfectly chosen for the accompanying narration.
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Thanks. Such a treat in our backyard.
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I am new to your blog having subscribed to your husband’s for maybe a month or longer. The photos are so good. I like those kind of scenes a lot. Beautiful deer. I noticed the huge decidous trees on the ridge. So wonderful that you have those old trees. They would be great in a painting.
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The blue oaks on the ridge are stunted due to shallow soils from underlying hard-pan. They are probably older than they look. They had a good acorn crop this year. The deer are feeding regularly. Perhaps we will have a chance to get some more shots.
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I didn’t know those are called blue oak. There are several kinds of oak growing here in central Texas. The oaks are always such good trees. Mighty as an oak or something to that effect was in a poem, way back when. Or maybe it is just a saying. Either way, so maybe you can plan to set up a small portable hut of some kind and let the deer get used to seeing it. Then try to get in before the deer come to eat the acorns. Those would be really good photos. We have the white-tail deer in my area but going to west Texas the mule deer are plentiful.
Speaking of acorn crop and that your trees produced good ones- so did the oaks and pecans where I live. Must have been a good acorn year in lots of places. I fed some of the live oak acorns to my old goat. (he’s about 10 or so now)
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In California we have natives blue oak, valley oak, white oak, black oak, canyon live oak, brewer oak, interior live oak, Oregon white oak, I am sure there are more, but can’t think of them off the top of The Forester’s head. LOL (I started listing trees and he chimed in.)
Our crops vary with elevation. At the higher elevation where we hunt, the crops were so, so this year.
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Mercy- there are many oaks where you live. There are a number of oaks in my area and maybe I’ll write about those someday.
Since Tim knows all of those trees he should get some pics of the different kinds and post those on his blog. I would really love seeing the different kinds of trees and where they grow with descriptions.
So do you hunt the black-tailed deer? My husband was a died in the wool outdoors man and hunter but I never wanted to hunt- just can not do it. My son is a bow hunter but he has not really tired to hunt this year. I wish that he would hunt with a camera but as long as he eats or gives away the game I okay with that.
Mary, look in the nature category and IF YOU HAE TIME read the View From the Highway. I wrote a bit about the canned hunts that are set up not too far from where I live. Some of my best comments (not that many) were about that post.
Yvonne
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Others have said it, I’ll say it, too… Nice work stalking those deer. I take it the buck is a survivor of the latest hunt.
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It would appear so. I don’t know if he is a year round resident or if he is one that migrated from the mountains.
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Wonderful photographs. 🙂 Paulette
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LOL at ‘i predict twins in the spring.’ That was really funny. Your pictures are cool too. You didn’t snap them with phones, did you?
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Glad you enjoyed it. Nikon D200 w Nikor 80-400 VR Very low light, ISO 800. Thanks for stopping by.
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Lovely post Mary. I can just imagine you two at home. Tim with his feet up by the log fire and you belly crawling in with his cup of coffee. “You have to practice dear” he says 😉
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ha ha … everyone who know us just spit their coffee across the room. Tim says, “Lara Croft is coming to get you.”
Apparently I missed that post.
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Tim and I are staying well clear of my Women with Shotguns post. Too many Lara Crofts in there. And one HAS escaped and is after me ? Uh oh ! I’m in big trouble now, again, as usual 😉
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😀
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I have started to detest where I stay. The fact that urbanism is consuming us whole. I like it where you are based Mary. And of course, the pictures full of life are amazing.
-Asha
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I like it too. I enjoy the quiet and treasure the privacy. 🙂
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