The Deer are Back

Seeing mule deer when out for my daily walk is a pleasure I always relish. I haven't seen them since Spring, but they were out today. One came close, but I missed the photo with my older, backup camera (I ruined my new one when I fell in the creek last week. It would have pulled in much closer images). Anyway, it was this old camera that got me the shots I used for a painting I did early this year called "There Goes the Neighborhood". It's a puzzle I wonder how we'll solve - how to live with wildlife in our back yards. There is much pressure to teach African nations to ensure the survival of wildlife essential to tourist safaris. Here in North America, the track record is poor. Wolves have been eradicated in many states and much of Canada. Deer are unmercifully hunted, poached and terrorized in their wild habitats. Then, when they come into our neighbourhoods to escape hunters on quads, people are both charmed and pissed that the deer are eating their gardens. Some are even afraid of them or not wise enough to avoid scaring them.