One early spring morning this year I was walking the dog on State Street when we stumbled upon three deer across the street from us. The deer made a well-worn beeline to a hole in the fence of the St. Augustine’s campus and bounded into the woods. In July I had another morning sighting, with deer standing near the edge of our front yard.
Late this morning Kelly was backing the car out of the driveway when our phone rang. She was calling me to see the deer that were once again at the edge of our yard. I looked out the front window to see two adolescent-looking deer standing on the wooded path at the end of our street. Kelly put the car in park while I fetched our camera. I was eager for a record of this encounter to make up for the earlier two encounters I let slip away.
It was not easy focusing on the deer through the leafless trees which separated us but I managed to get a few good shots of them as they nervously flitted around my neighbor’s yard. After a few minutes they opted to return to the deeper woods and trotted briskly down the driveway leading to the Weatherford house.
I’m still amazed that these critters have carved out a home in a place less than two miles away from downtown Raleigh. What’s even more interesting to ponder is how much longer this area could support deer. Once the Weatherford property gets developed I expect deer will be a much rarer sight, and that’s kind of sad. I guess I should enjoy it while I can!