Unexpected Deer Hunt

On Saturday morning of the Art Show I stepped outside of the barn and went to the back of it to photograph the ducks that were on the pond. I took a couple of pictures and then looked back toward the front of the barn to see if any visitors were coming and thus I would need to return into the barn. To my excitement I saw instead another visitor of sorts just passing by the show. I knew he had been there earlier since one of the other artists had seen him just before I pulled up. I shot one picture and then dashed behind the barn to the other side so that I could see him as he came into the field by the barn.


He had not crossed the fence yet from the canal (recently put into pipe this last summer) where he was walking and so as I reached the front of the barn I was able to stay to the side of it enough not to attract his attention to me. I took another shot and then realized that he was about to jump the fence so I quickly changed the camera into rapid sequence mode and took another shot as he approached the fence. Then he looked down the road and changed his mind since another artist was now driving up. (I decided a few seconds later as I tried to take his pictures as he then ran a few feet up the canal and found out that my camera battery had just died. I would have missed the jump had he jumped.)



I reached into my pocket grabbed the next battery and started up the road after him. I took a couple more shots just in case I couldn't intercept him since we were both on foot and I am much slower. Lucky for me however he was in no real hurry to get back to the mountain and I was able to make the 1/2 mile hike a little more quickly than he did.


I rounded the corner with the road and started down the next road to where I figured he might jump the fence and cross the road. He decided to jump however on the opposite side and downhill from where I was so that I barely could tell that he even jumped anyway. He then came out onto the road and was breathing through his mouth. I don't think he was really too tired even though it looked like it.


I gave a short whistle and was able to get his attention without spooking him. He turned to look my direction and I fired off some more shots. He continued his course toward the mountain and luckily for me again it was in a semi circle around me so that I was able to go a lot less distance to be able to intercept him again. I took more pictures as he went past the weeds and up toward the hill.



It looked as though he were going to go a lot further than I had thought before turning toward the hill so I fired off some more shots just in case I couldn't catch up again.



However he turned East just in time to get past a small area where I could then see him clearly again. I whistled again and he again looked at me and this time must have realized that I was staying pretty close to him so he decided to cross the road a little faster than the previous time and of course I fired off several more shots. (I use to do that as a young man only there were puffs of dirt kicked up each time but still probably about the same number of shots with the same outcome. I have been very OK with shooting with the purpose of both of us walking away and my having only a camera to have to carry and not a rifle and a dead deer.) I figured my hunt was over at that point because I had no desire to chase or even try to follow him up on the mountain. I had the pictures I figured that I could live with and he would probably live a whole lot easier by not being spooked into a full run even though that would have made for some great shots as well.