The not-so-baby buck

This guy started hanging around the farm a couple of years ago, first with a small doe, and last year, all alone. His antlers in this mid-May photo are still velvet-covered.

Today I saw him out of the corner of my eye as I walked past the dining room windows. He was walking around under the big cedar tree that overhangs our patio. It's so shady and dark under there, I almost didn't see him. Later in the afternoon, when it was hot and sill, he and his mate took a snooze under the trees in the old orchard.

I'm always glad to see deer on our place, but I always wonder what my neighbors think. Two of my neighbors are avid gardeners: Lucy, who has planted every foot of her gorgeous acre lot, and Jim, who spends all his spare time working outside on his two-plus acres. Our other neighbor, who shares our long side and has horses and cattle (and exotic birds), doesn't mind when the deer visit.