There are two seasonal things happening now that you might find interesting. Both relate to the white-tail deer that regularly roam our fields in some unknown circadian schedule, all of which are females or yearlings in various sized sororities. (We have a buck or two on the property at times, but they usually remain hidden.)

First, our deer are being very frisky. They gambol and chase each other with a freedom, energy, and grace that makes an old man wistful. Lately, a few of these high-spirited white-tails have taken to jumping over our large double stone wall for the hell of it, rather than walk through one of its portals. That’s when wistful becomes envy.

Second, many of these deer are in one stage or another of their spring molt. If you look closely at the jumper, you’ll see that she’s molting along her neck and chest. The annual spring deer molt usually starts there and moves back to the rump and can be quite patchy:

The deer’s dark gray winter topcoat absorbs the sun’s heat; it also provides better camouflage in the winter landscape of gray trunks, dark evergreens, and white snow that resembles their tails and underbellies. In the spring, the darker hairs in the topcoat are replaced with lighter, reddish hairs, which reflect away the sun’s light and provide better camouflage in brighter, leafy terrain. (Brooklin, Maine)

In the Right Place: Hair-Raising