277/365: "Innocence is always unsuspicious." ~ Joseph Joubert

1 more picture above in a note! :)

I have a love-hate relationship with our deer. I love to see them and have always thought them to be so beautiful and graceful. However, several months ago we were driving home at night and a deer ran right in front of the car and we couldn't do anything but hit it. We could have been killed but thankfully, we were uninjured and our car was merely totalled. Our Ford Focus is now fixed but we both have nightmares about that poor deer.

As for the deer on our property... they mow down my flowers, which I can't blame them for...but...I blame them anyway! :D Even though they make me very upset for eating my flowers, I cannot deny that what my heart feels is love for these beautiful creatures.

Every autumn is hunting season and all the males are up for grabs. Oregon is a very popular hunting ground, so our "No Hunting" signs have bullet holes in them and broken beer bottles thrown at them. Our views have never changed: trophy hunting SUCKS and makes us burn with rage, but those who hunt for meat are fine with us. Our property, though, is a sanctuary for any deer that venture here.

We haven't seen any bucks in the past few weeks but lately there has been a group of about 6 does and fawns who make their way around the area and we see them in the morning and in the early evening. This young fawn is one of three and the largest of the trio. (In the processing of this image, I used a 50% opacity of a texture in the background from Jerry Jones: "Aborigine" and a 30% opacity of his texture PaperBox. Thanks Jerry! :)

Joseph Joubert (7 May 1754 in Montignac, Périgord – 4 May 1824 in Paris) was a French moralist and essayist, remembered today largely for his Pensées (Thoughts), which was published posthumously. Wikipedia: Joseph Joubert