Deer Out of Hiding

     On our way to an evening of dinner and shopping recently, Pop and I took one of our scenic "shortcuts". (Pop was a mailman for years and knows the back way to any destination in the north metro St. Louis area - not always faster but always more interesting). This particular day we left home at dusk, actually some time after sundown, and preferring to avoid rush hour traffic on the highway, travelled instead southwest through the bottomland farms. Because this area is less than a mile from the Missouri River we often see deer grazing in the stubbly fields and alongside the road there is usually, sadly, the body of a deer who has met headlong with a car. But tonight we were amazed by the sheer number of animals foraging in the duskiness; there were nine separate herds of at least seven deer each. Possibly, probably, there were more that were not visible to us. Where did these deer come from and where and how did they spend the rest of their time? 

     People who live in non-urban areas probably take deer for granted and some municipalities in the suburban St. Louis area fight high populations of troublesome deer, but I am  fascinated with them, with their grace and beauty, and their wildness. When, shortly thereafter and purely by chance, I happened upon a book titled The Hidden Life of Deer, I thought I would find it mildly interesting, but it was actually fascinating. Aside from some political and ecological trumpeting, Elizabeth Marshall Thomas presents an absorbing tale of the habits, instincts and social customs of the beloved white-tail deer on her New Hampsire farm. Fun read!