A friend in Florida sent me these pics. The photos were emailed to her from a guy who lives on the Olympic Peninsula, in the area west of Brinnon, Washington.

They were all taken at his neighbor's house.

Our house was built in the deer's natural habitat in a remote rural area. Well, worn deer trails cut through the property's abundant pine and sage. The oldest deer we've met (we call her Mama Rose) walked right up to us when we first arrived, sniffing and looking us over. Rose smelled some almonds in my pocket so I gave her a few. We gave some almonds to her family a few other times but stopped the practice when advised that feeding deer is illegal. Even so, that didn't stop them from regular visits. Rose and her kin obviously think the yard belongs to them as much as anyone else, and they are just taking advantage of the wealth of natural foods growing everywhere. They especially like clover flowers, but it's amazing to see the variety of tasty flowers, leaves, twigs, nuts and berries they'll eat. They stay away from herbs and herbal flowers, but on occasion we've seen young deer eating the sweet medicinal berries of the Juniper tree. Food is of course a major concern, but we also think they visit because they like our company. Often we see deer we don't know nibbling in the yard, but nearly everyday some or many of Rose's extended family come by. All of the deer are likely to lay down on the grass and hang out, whether we know them well or not. Many of them know us personally, and while often running into the yard to greet us with their quiet enthusiasm, they will also swiftly shy away from strangers. Although notoriously skittish, able to leap meters in the air in an instant when startled, a few deer we know, most notably Eva and her kids, will let us touch them as if we were family, letting us scratch them or pick something out of their fur. Eva even enjoys a hearty back rub! We've certainly learned a lot about how to act around them so as not to disturb them. We think they appreciate our efforts in fitting into their neighborhood.

Mama Rose, the matriarch, taught us the way of the deer. In winter 2005 she disappeared, passing her throne onto Lisa.

Are these deer Whitetail? Be good to set up house here....have the meat come to you.

Cheers, Vince

More pics

Cheers, Vince

Nice pics. They look to be either Muley's or Blacktails. Maybe someone else in the Northwest can confirm that.
Yotebuster

Great pics Vince . There ears apear a little large to be whitetail deer. As yotebuster said probably Muley or Blacktail. Thanks for postin the pics Vince I enjoyed them
Joe

Being from the Northwest and spending 16 years hunting and fishing in the area in question. Those are the elusive Blacktails of the Northwest that outdoor and hunting magazine writers try to hunt and get skunked.

Brinnon, Wa is on the Southeast edge of the Olympic National Park Just West and across the Puget Sound from Seattle, Wa.

Vince...You sure that guy in the top photo isn't related to you? By The Way...What I didn't get on e-mail I got here. Thanks for trying though. It's not your end. It's this damned dial-up system they have here...

Here is a picture Bushy wanted me to post for him:

Quote::

Bushy's note: "3X3 (we don't count the eye guards out west) taken a few years ago by me just East of Seattle, Wa. Field dressed at 200 lbs and had a span of 21 inches from middle tine to middle tine."

The white patch on their rump is not big enough to be muley's and they aren't whitetail. . We don't have blacktails here but my guess would be that that is what they are.

Nice looking rack there Bushy. And the gun,.....um, Winchester I presume? What model and caliber?
Yotebuster

1948-49 (1608XXX) .30 WCF (.30-30)(also known as my "Jack Handle"). And thank you Yotebuster. I might miss, but it never misses (3 rounds in a 3" dot at 100 yards consistently). I bought it when I was 18 and have used it as my "go-to" rifle ever sense. The photos that Vince sent and my rack are all Blacktail. Muleys are on the Eastern side of the Cascades and the blacktails are on the Western side of the cascades.

vince,you would have to agree with me, that this indeed is a deerhaven,and it would be a pleasure to visit this yard,by the way i first thought that was you in the picture too

Thouse deer are friendly never met deer like that.

Humm too bad we didn't know where this was, and had tags for it, can I say BBQ ??

Dimitri

Thanks guys...thought you might find the pics enjoyable.

The guy in the pics isn't related to me....he's too good lookin' My missus reckons I got a head like a smashed crab.

Got a few more pics.

A couple more pics.

and more

You will note that Charlotta is a "spike"....