So Fabulous Publisher Babe(tm) and I just went for a walk. She has a fitbit and is subject the the “tyranny of movement” because it reminds her at 10 minutes til the hour if she hasn’t walked at least 250 steps.

There are two driveways from the bottom of the hill where the road ends. One goes up to my landlocked neighbor above me on the back hill, and the other curls around to my house. Mine is much less steep, so we tend to walk down hers and then circle back up ours when we want a medium walk. (Long is all the way to the main road and saying hi to the neighbors.)

As we’re headed down the driveway, the Babe sees something and points, but I missed it. She described it as a dog or something. I did see a resident coyote earlier in the week, but it’s a nice day and there are two of us. We keep walking.

About ten seconds later, a second deer walks off the road and onto my driveway, visible for a bit as she stops to look up at us saying “HALLO” at her. Then she scampers off out of sight.

We get to the bottom of the driveway and look up my side. Mama deer is at the first curve, about 75 yards up the hill, paused and looking back over her shoulder at us as we start up the hill again.

The other deer is visible as we get to the first curve. Yearling. Mama is presumably pregnant and due to give birth in the middle of May, because that’s when they do around here. Usually twins. Generally only one of them survive a year, because of dogs, cars, and coyotes.

Baby takes the turn down the path as we’re coming up behind them, but Mama keeps going up the driveway and obviously whistles or something, because kiddo immediately reappears and scampers after her.

We get to the second curve. Mama and kiddo are at the top, where the hill flattens out for the clearing, and they turn up the path to the barn.

They are not moving quickly, as Babe and I are now about 20 yards behind them. They get into the side meadow in front of the barn and sit and watch as we keep going up to the driveway and into the house.

You can tell they are utterly terrified by the way they’re sitting in front of the barn grazing right now. Utterly terrified, I tell you.

Just looked up and they’ve finally wandered off. I’m guessing over the top of the hill and back down the front slope. Mama is a year-round resident. I have no idea how long deer live in the wild, but I’ve had at least one deer give birth around here for the ten years I’ve owned the property. (Ten years? Really? Wow. The house was done in 2015, so I’ve been living here for five already. Time flies.)

At least the deer as way less assholes than the elk.

Usually.

Today, they were just being goofs.