Magnificent photo Vetaal!!
Here is one from our photo workshop....this is dawn at Swallow Tail, Grand Manan, N.B.

{{!gwi}}

Mother and baby photographed from my kitchen door yesterday.

I hope her face is all right. I thought it looked odd.

The doe actually has twins!

Susan.....if it was swollen, it would be a worry....but sunken in....looks ok. :0)

{{!gwi}}

Gorgeous pics this morning!!

Burrows Inlet, Anacortes WA

Lido Island harbor. I live just over that hill and inland about 8 miles.

Jodi-

A local pond:

{{!gwi}}

Just one of the places I like to go when I want to get away from it all for a while...

Beautiful pictures today!! All that water looks lovely in this heat wave.

Casey... that looks like a painting. Awesome!

Alisande, I think something happened to that deer. Doesn't look normal to me.

Wish I was cruising!

lazypup...That's sure looks like Sturbridge to me. I have many fond memories of that colonial haven.

Alisande...I agree with Lydia. Something attacked that doe. Bless her heart...she won the battle...but only because she knew she had to for the sake of her twins. Take a really close look at the marks on her side and other red colored areas. One can see the paw/claw prints of the predator that "got" her...and it was nothing small. If I were you...I'd keep an eye on your domesticated pets and keep them close to home...especially at night.

Sturbridge is only 35 miles from our house and all but 3 miles of that is on the Massachusetts Turnpike so we generally can get there within about 45minutes.

They charge $20/adult to get into the Museum, but we got a One + One Annual Membership for $80 that allows us an unlimited number of visits for a year. (The museum is open year around).

About a month ago I bought a Radio Flyer wagon (kids type little red wagon) so now we load our camera gear inlcuding two tripods, two nylon folding chairs, a couple thermos's of coffee, a 2 gal water cooler and a sack lunch and head out to Sturbridge for the day. Sometimes we seriously tour the museum and shoot a lot of pictures and sometimes we just find a shady spot to sit and watch the world go by...LOL.

If you look in that photo of the sheep meadow you will see a big rooster in the middle of the field. That Roosters name is "Carl" and while he and his hen like to roam in the meadow, generally by mid day he is down on the common hanging out near the snack bar where he can bum cookie and muffin crumbs from the tourists. Last week Jan & I sat on a bench for about 4 hours watching that silly rooster work the crowd. To give you an idea of how big that rooster is, that bench behind him in the following picture is a standard size park bench.
That hen is always with him, like husband & wife. She also has a name but I can't remember what it is.

Anne, I took your warning seriously and scooped up the mama cat who was spayed last week. She'll spend her nights in the guest room for awhile--although I doubt the attack on the deer was recent. But I'm still a little spooked by the fact that years ago a bear killed our smallest dog (during the night).

I enlarged those marks you mentioned. I wonder about the pellet-like things on her back. Seed pods of some sort, perhaps? Or something else?

Alisande...

I can only guess...but those pellet like "things" may be engorged ticks. When I zoomed in on your original postings...I saw them then. They seem to be aligned alone her back spinal area. She's been through the wringer for one reason or another and her immunity defenses may not be what they should be. Being weak, she'll become an easy host for almost anything. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't be so visible [in your yard] on such a continual basis...and if those are ticks...she would have rubbed them off long before they reached that size. She's there because neither you nor your pets have threatened her and she needs a safe haven for her twins. She's probably bedding down with them in your tall grass areas and provided she has a water source nearby...she'll stay there until her twins are strong enough to survive on their own. Those wounds, if we're right, are not that old. If they were, we wouldn't be able to see them so easily.

I'm glad you brought mama cat in for a while. At least until she's strong enough to run fast and climb. Most cats have enough sense to run from a bear. Dogs want to defend their territory often to their own demise. It must have been a terrible experience for you. I know it would have been for me.

If possible...could you post photos/progress reports from time-to-time? It's hard to tell her age from photos but if she's a liability, her own kind will shun her...and I hope she makes it.

lazypup...

Sturbridge has always been one of my favorite places. I'm a native Bostonian...although I haven't been there in about 30 years. The last time I was at Sturbridge, I made the mistake of resting my hand against the split railing of the ram's enclosure and almost lost three of my fingers to his aggressive strike. ;-) I couldn't fault him. I wasn't paying attention! He taught me a good lesson...albeit painful. LOL

That rooster is gorgeous! I think I met one of his ancestors the last time I was there. I spent many a Christmas holiday there although it's been several years since the last time.

I've admired your photography for quite a while and seemingly recognize many of your photo locations. They're warm reminders of many previous pleasurable times. Thank you.

And...congratulations...you fulfilled a favorite wish of mine. I'm always telling anyone who will listen that I need a little red wagon to tote all my "stuff" around. Instead I always look like a Sherpa heading towards a mountain rendezvous. Nice to see that someone else has the genius to do it. ;-)

Thanks, Anne. I'm sure I'll be able to take more pictures. She and her babies hang around here a lot. My only concern is that they've become too comfortable with humans.

I guess those could be ticks on her face, too. Ugh. I have personal animosity toward ticks. My doctor calls me a tick magnet.

At least the doe looks well fed.