The Doe Is Back!

I know that it probably is not related to the “conversation” I had with the young doe the other day, but I feel guilty nevertheless.  You might remember that the discussion (one-sided though it was) concerned her lovely, slim legs and sylph-like ankles and my amazement over their strength as well as their beauty.

Young Buck on Guard Duty

Yesterday, she was back but, this time, with a young and very attentive buck.  He stayed close by her — a bit more skittish than she, but even when he jumped the fence to get out of the yard and to distance himself from me, he immediately jumped back over and stood watch nearby.  She, meanwhile, ambled toward the pear tree and it was then that I noticed she was limping.  She was favoring her right foreleg and I immediately felt responsible.  Had I not mentioned her legs the other day (I think I even talked about osteoporosis!), surely she wouldn’t be limping.  I must have set her up…

Staying Nearby

My other thought was that the buck wasn’t just being flirtatious.  Maybe he was keeping an eye out for her — staying nearby just in case.  A foolish thought, perhaps, but I didn’t change my mind during the twenty minutes we all shared the garden.  (Nyel was out there, too, working on the rhodies along the east fence, but I was the one they were keeping an eye on. He, apparently, wasn’t of interest.)

As the doe browsed for fallen pears, the buck kept watch, his eyes seldom leaving me.  Mostly, he stood nearby, though once or twice he “floated” quickly to another vantage point.  (If you’ve ever watched a buck’s legs as he runs, you know what I mean about floating.)

Nyel thinks the doe may have a hoof problem rather than a leg problem.  That doesn’t really assuage my guilt, even though I know my cause-effect scenario is ridiculous.  Whatever the problem, though, I hope it heals itself.  Soon.