On the Wild Side
Part 4 of my journey through the images I’ve been lucky enough to capture since taking up photography as a hobby two years ago. Nearly all were shot in and around Wythe County, Virginia, many of them in our back yard. Some evenings we have whitetail deer within 10 yards of the house and my wife’s feeder collection (I call it Burd Town.) always draws a crown to the maple tree right outside our bedroom window.
For larger views of any image just click on the thumb in the gallery below.
Well, HELLO!
The weather for the past couple of days can best be described as gloomy! The daytime highs that struggled to reach 70°F (21°C) were a welcome change from the heat wave we’ve been suffering through. On the other hand the steady drizzle interspersed with occasional rain showers soon became monotonous even if we did desperately need rain. The rain is gone now and the heat and humidity have returned, with a high around 90°F (32°C) predicted for every day this week. Oh joy! It’s already 96°F (35°C) and the hottest part of the day is yet to come.
As I sat here waiting for the local self storage place to open so we could unload Laura’s furniture from my truck I was not asleep with my eyes open, despite popular opinion. I was actually trying to decide where I wanted to roam with the camera today my decision was made for me. Frankie was in the kitchen helping Laura fill out rental applications (still no luck on that front) when she shouted “DEER IN THE BACK YARD!” Glancing out the window beside my chair I spotted not just any deer but the piebald buck that roams our ridge.
Legend has it that seeing a piebald doe is lucky. Piebald bucks are eve rarer so I’m expecting Frankie will hit the lottery for a gazillion dollars any day now. When she does you’re all invited to the party!
I got these shots from our back door. They were hurried and the camera got jiggled a few times (image stabilized lens saves the day again). You see, I was fending off a lunatic Labrador Retriever while trying to frame a shot. Sam thinks these critters are big dogs and he’d like nothing better than to run with them.
I guess we were making more noise that I realized because the deer suddenly turned and spotted me in the open doorway 20 yards away.
Sometimes, if I stay really still and don’t present a threat, a deer will go back to grazing and allow me to get a few more frames.
This was not one of those times. When that tail goes up it’s time to switch to a fast shutter speed or all you’ll get is an orange and white blur because that deer’s mind has gone to feet don’t fail me now mode.
If you hover your mouse over the these last three frames you’ll see the frame numbers and notice that one is missing. The missing one was the aforementioned multicolored blur.
There was another blurred frame after this last one as the buck broke left and leaped into the brush and out of sight.
When this guy first started showing up in our yard he didn’t seem to have much fear of humans and that was a concern to me with hunting season fast approaching. Nobody hunts our ridge but you never know……
Today’s episode set my mind at ease. That critter can not only run, he can JUMP!
