Over the years you’ve seen me post many photos of the wildlife around our house. It’s remarkable to see how close the animals come to our front door, but those close encounters are to be expected since we live so far out in the country. What I don’t expect is to see is wildlife like this in a busy town! On the way to shooting a hockey game in Huntsville, the largest town in Muskoka, I spotted this pair of deer grazing on the front lawn of a house situated only 20 yards from the main downtown street in the town.
At first I thought they were lawn ornaments, after all this was early December and sometimes people decorate their lawns for Christmas with life size deer. But these Christmas ornaments were quite lively! I jumped out of the car and snapped a few photos.
It was nearly dark, and the camera had been set up for different lighting conditions, so in the dusky light all the photos came out with a vintage-look sepia tone. I was sure the deer would run off as I approached so I didn’t waste any time trying to change camera settings. To my surprise the deer seemed most tame and didn’t mind seeing me approach. They continued to happily graze as cars passed, pedestrians walked by on the street and as I stood there taking photos.
The following week I was back in Huntsville photographing hockey again. This time there was a lot of snow on the ground. Deer still roamed the streets. After photographing a hockey game I looked out a window at the arena and saw another healthy deer climbing through the snow in a forested backyard. This one was only 50 yards from the very busy hockey arena and sports complex and the adjacent high school situated in the centre of town.
So, it seems that seeing wildlife like this isn’t limited to those of us who live way out in the country. Here in Muskoka you can be in the middle of the biggest town, doing some Christmas shopping on the main street, and are likely to meet some deer or bears on the way!
Min
Oh my!!!! Oh deer!!!! what a lovely sight.