White-tailed deer are the smallest of the three members of the deer family found in Michigan, the others being elk and moose.
Their size ranges between 125 to 225 pounds, although really healthy bucks may be even larger.
Their coat is a reddish-brown color in the summer, but becomes much more gray in the winter.
This change helps to hide them as the colors of their environment change.
Their tubular or hollow hairs provide insulation, allowing them to lie on snow without melting it, as well as creating enough buoyancy for swimming.
Deer have a good sense of smell, keen hearing and eyesight, but they are color blind.
Deer are graceful and swift runners (up to 35 miles per hour), but do not generally run long distances, preferring to seek the nearest shelter whenever possible.
Note: Information from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment.
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights. ~2 Samuel 22:34 (NIV)
A white-tailed deer drinks from the creek; I want to drink God, deep draughts of God. I wonder, “Will I ever make it—arrive and drink in God’s presence?” I’m thirsty for God-alive. ~Psalm 42:1-2 (Message)
May you drink deep of Him this weekend.
Amen.
🙂
I love the quality of these photos. Just so beautiful.
And I love the sensibility you keep developing more and more, for life… life… life. 🙂
Love you.
Smiling ear to ear. 😀
I love watching the deer around here, but where my daughter lives they have become an urban problem and the city fathers are working on a culling plan. So sad that it’s necessary, but I’ve seen how bold and dangerous they can be when confronted by people and pets in the city.
Your photos and application are beautiful. I love every version of Psalm 42 (and the resulting hymn), “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.”
I’m always shocked when we see them in town and subdivisions. One wonders if they are a problem for us or are we a problem for them. I read just the other day of a coyote in a suburban yard in the Detroit area.
I love that song, too!
I never tire of their visits …
I don’t either. And when the kids were small, we’d pile in the car at dusk and drive country roads looking for them. Now I wonder–as I’ve come to pay more attention–if they’ve always been right under my nose.
That’s so cool. A few months back April and I went on a retreat and got about 10 feet away from 8 deer. We just stood there and watched. It was beautiful.
I remember my parents taking me to a place where we could pet and feed the deer. But there’s nothing like watching them in the wild.
i think they are so pretty. such eyes!
Soft and gentle. Most of the time.