Herding Up for Winter? Not Yet.

Before I went on my trip to the Upper Peninsula, winter must have been I on mind.  We were in an unseasonably cool spell for August, with highs only in the sixties.  Then I saw the 2016 Farmers' Almanac in the grocery story and that made me think of winter too.  But what I was seeing in the natural world was new behaviors among my deer herd.  I had 13 visitors that afternoon to my deer block!  They couldn't be herding up already for winter, could they, I wondered?  Some of my young bucks were even sporting significant velvet.

Upon my return, things had normalized for August weather and so had my deer visiting patterns.  The main visitors to my deer block were my regulars, a doe and her growing fawn.  The fawn was nearly as tall as her mother, although its spots were still very evident.

Mom was very watchful of my photographing her and the fawn, but she didn't bolt and her fawn kept nibbling away at the block.

After a while, the fawn went off and I thought it had gone exploring.  But on closer inspection, I could see it resting through the copse of trees at the back of my property.

A few minutes later the fawn came out and began exploring the grounds around the deer block.

She re-joined her mom after a while and they ate a bit more from the deer block before wandering off into the woods.  Clearly, despite my earlier concerns and signs, there was no sign of winter in sight...especially with temps in the mid-80s on these early September days.