At the conclusion of last week’s trip to the nearby prairie meadow, as I approached the woodland trail that leads from the meadow to the parking lot, there was a loud commotion as small redbud trees and sumac shrubs thrashed violently about. Catching the action in the corner of my eye, I saw a blur of movement in the wooded area. As I continued to watch, the movement stopped. After a bit of straining to see what was going on, I observed this deer fawn that was staring back at me:
As I jockeyed into position to get a better view, the little fawn also moved about to get a better look at me!
Deer are common at this prairie. On several occasions I have seen does grazing, and have even nearly stepped on very young fawns twice, as I moved about the meadow looking for wildflowers. This day’s fawn was a bit older, but was still proudly displaying it’s spots. And as I came upon the woodland trail, I saw a small area where the grasses and wildflowers had been matted down to the ground. Since this outing was late in the evening and just before sunset, I guess this little guy was bedding down for a bit of rest … that is, until I disturbed him.
