The morning was mostly sunny, though cool. Perhaps for the deer, it was too bright. Or maybe, they were just relaxing after a full meal.

It was a shaded glade, deciduous trees and a few evergreens surrounded it. The grass was short and welcoming. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, not yet blown away by the strong winds of the last couple of days. It was as if many candles flickered through the shadows from the trees.

As I pulled up and stopped on the street, about 25 yards away, one doe looked up. She was the closest to the road, so I guess she was on watch. I stopped and took out my camera. But my windows were dirty and any picture I tried to take from inside the truck would be spotted. So, I turned off the engine and waited a minute. She just watched and the others, I could see two more does and a young, 4 point buck, ignored me.

It was as if she could see through the tinted windows and knew what I wanted.

Slowly, I opened the door and got out. She just watched, both ears erect and open toward me. I don’t know what she was looking for, but all she did was turn her head to follow me as I walked around the truck to where I could try for a picture. I was careful not to approach – I did not want to spook them. Besides the points on the buck looked sharp. All was softly quiet, no cars going by, no birds singing, no dogs barking. Just the deer and me.

I don’t know if the picture turned out – the shadows were dark and nearly the color of their fur. They blended too well. I would have had to get closer to be sure. Still, they let me take the picture. Once I took the picture, I slowly backed away to put the camera in the car. All the while the doe kept watch.

Oh, I forgot to mention, the glade was actually the side yard of the house I was visiting. The deer are used to humans wandering around them, though they do pay attention. How do I know?

It wasn’t until I began to approach the front door that the buck started to watch. Like the doe, both ears were erect and aimed at me, a sort of radar. He wanted to be sure I was not a threat. He watched me all the way up the sidewalk to the front door., turning his head as I walked, first closer, then moving away to reach the front door. Once I reached the door, he turned his head, looking back over the does in his company and just ignored me, knowing I was not a threat.

As I entered the house, I couldn’t help but wonder “who really owns the property?”