Tracking the deer

It doesn’t look like much. A barely discernible difference in the patterning of the grass. But coming across it made my heart race. The deer have been lying here. There is aliveness now where before there was none. I’m alert. Part of my brain is scanning for things I didn’t think to look for just a few moments ago.

The thinnest parting of grass along the fence line is where they have walked and eaten. My path, in contrast, looks heavy and wide, my feet flattening whole swathes of grass as I walk. The long legs and thin hooves of the deer leave hardly a trace. 

How unaware I am. I mindlessly walked the length of this paddock without looking. Are the deer close by? Are they watching me now? I know nothing about them. Beyond birds, my knowledge of wildlife comes solely from documentaries. How would the deer behave if I startled them?

The first time I saw the stag, I mistook his antlers for a fallen pine branch. He held still, looking directly at me, for nearly a minute. So I guess that is the first thing they do - freeze. When I moved to take a second photo, they both ran in the opposite direction. So as long as I don’t surprise them in a place they can’t get out of, I’m probably safe.

Last week I went walking at twilight. I stayed out longer than I intended and the dark seemed to arrive suddenly. The idea of stumbling upon them as they lay down for the night was terrifying. Every creaking branch and cracking twig had my heart racing. Even being back inside our fenceline was cold comfort. Deer can jump incredibly high.

I know having the deer this close is only temporary. I keep my eye on the weather forecast and on the paddocks around me. The next run of fine days could mean hay-making. The tractor will arrive early one morning to cut the grass. It will be left to dry, raked and turned over the course of three or four days. It will then be left in neat windrows. A finally a baler will gather the hay and turn it into round bales, each weighing about 1000 pounds.

The paddocks will be bare. There will be a small run of grass around fencelines to graze on, but no cover to hide in. Most importantly, this area that the deer have roamed, free of cattle and humans, will no longer be a haven. There will be machines and noise and the deer will move on. Going west would mean crossing the river and traversing a hill spattered with houses and farms, which they are unlikely to do. North or west will lead them back into forest park. 

In the meantime, I’ll keep watching for them. I hadn’t seen them for a few days, and I wondered if they’d headed further south to more ungrazed paddocks. But this morning I found another new patch of flattened grass. At the very bottom corner of our property is a huge macrocarpa tree. Under the tree, just beyond our fence, they have made themselves comfortable. They’ve eaten the grass and have been lying here. It’s slightly elevated and with the tree at your back it feels very secure. It’s one of my favourite spots to photograph from. I like that they like it too.