We had some welcome house guests during our family Black Hills retreat last weekend. As I rolled into the driveway I saw a doe hanging out behind the deck, and sprang out with my camera without even unlocking the house and dashed to the backyard.

As it turns out, there were two does as well as two bucks and two fawns. With ample grazing in the yard (and apple trees over the deck) they were always rummaging about in the morning and evening.

Of course, after climbing all over the side of the mountain that suffices as a backyard, I realized that it was teeming with poison ivy.

I’ve had poison ivy so many times that it doesn’t even really bother me any more. I had one itchy spot on my ankle for a few days and, since I didn’t scratch it, it didn’t spread. I was tempted a few times but stayed strong.

I wish I had this kind of luck with human subjects; the deer posed so nicely and, since they’re deer, remained relatively still. Since we were throwing them apples from the trees by the deck from time to time, we didn’t appear to pose much of a threat.

The fawns were the most skittish, the hardest to find, and the least likely to approach the house. I only saw them a few times and they rarely left me an opportunity to point the camera at them. When not moving they blended into the background so well that they were hard to spot even when near.

Since we pretty much left them alone and there was plenty of good grazing around, they hung out with us for the week. They seemed to be okay with me wandering around nearby with my camera as long as the fawns were hidden.

I’ve pretty much had my fill of deer photos now, except I wouldn’t mind having a nice close-up session with the fawns again sometime. Unfortunately they weren’t about to give me that opportunity this time around. Maybe next time. Until then, I’m pretty satisfied with my little mountainside deer-chasing adventure.

It looks like I may have interrupted lunch…notice the remnants of a raptor snack on the horizontal fence post. This particular bird didn’t look to enthused to have me stopping the truck nearby, and took off shortly after this shot. He sure looked pretty scraggly with his feathers wet and matted! I think it made him look even more stern and cranky than a hawk usually looks.

It sure was a soaker last Saturday; when I’d get out of the truck in the middle of a rural Morton County gravel road, I’d leave footprints. Yes, a lot of four wheel drive was employed. I credit the cold, soggy day for the hawk’s reluctance to simply fly away as soon as I got close. Most of the other ones I saw that day were gone as soon as I began to slow down.

It’s that time of year, when fledgeling robins leave the nest and learn to fend for themselves. We have a lot of worms in the soil on and around our property, so naturally we have a lot of robins as well. Early in the summer we start seeing the speckled robin chicks around the place, ambulatory but not quite taking flight with any great proficiency, hanging out for their parents to help them find sustenance.

This one somehow found a way to perch on my boy’s Hot Wheels bike, and I think he really liked the feel of the tire on his toes. He spent a great deal of time there before flying off toward the wood pile in search of his mommy. She was hovering about but reluctant to swoop in with dinner since my two little guys and I were there watching, so we decided to head into the house for their bath time and let the robins have their dinner.

My boys and I took in the Dakota Zoo last weekend and, while the exhibits were a lot of fun, we also had a surprise au naturel while walking from one part of the zoo to another. In a little slough behind the main building, just south of the waterfowl pond, I spotted movement across the water. It was a procession of little ducklings followed by a protective mama! They swam a sort bit, found a nice place to come ashore, then proceeded to gather for a nice little nap.

I watched intently as they gathered closer and closer, grooming feathers and rubbing bills, until they were packed in tightly enough for comfort. The vigilant mother kept an eye on me despite the distance, and slowly little duckling eyes began to close.

Once they settled and I’d taken a LOT of photos from a couple of different angles, it was time to let them have their nap in peace and move on to see more of the planned exhibits. It was cool to catch such an unexpected display within the zoo boundaries!

Yeah, these cold snaps aren’t much fun. They’re slightly more tolerable if you possess the ability to fluff up by a factor of two or three times your actual body size!

This little guy and his friends inhabit the bushes along the McDonald’s drive-thru on Main Avenue. I couldn’t help but take a quick photo before rolling ahead to get my food.

We always have plenty of bunnies on our property due to the abundance of habitat for them to hide and play in…this year is no different. Each year I find one particular bunny that stands out and dub him Greg, after the FOX television show Greg the Bunny. I loved that short-lived show and so, in an homage to its puppet star, I employ the name each year by assigning it to one of our family’s cohabitants.

I saw these two hawks chummin’ it up atop a row of hay bales the other day as sunrise approached. My 3 year old and I were out roaming in Daddy’s truck, ready to find some mud and a sunset so we could use some cameras and four wheel drive.

It’s not uncommon to see hawks sitting on bales like these; I imagine they’re a great vantage point for scoping out some tasty rodents. What I thought was unique was the fact that two of these hawks were sitting facing each other. I tried to get a little closer for a tighter photo, but of course they soon departed.

On a side note, I once heard that these round bales are going to be banned by the USDA in the near future. Apparently the livestock can’t get a “square meal” out of ’em!