Ellen: The Beat Goes On

Two lady cardinals have a chat. You'd think there was a mirror.

And the purple finch wonders, "Does this cardinal make me look fat?"

One interesting thing about photographing these deer every chance I get is documenting changes in their appearance--seasonal and otherwise.

When Beck, Ellen's beautiful son, showed up on February 19, 2016, only his pedicels said he once wore a crown. I was surprised he'd dropped his antlers so soon.

At 2 1/2 years old, he's still slight enough to be mistaken for a big doe.

Oh how I would love to find the antlers that left those pedicel scars. I've looked. I'll keep looking. The snow queered my search.  They show up best on sodden leaves.

Tell me where you dropped 'em, Beck. Please. I'll give you a little corn.

Meanwhile, I keep shooting his little mama Ellen. 

and I've noticed a change in her bad eye.

 I don't think she has sight in it as yet, but it looks to me that the scarred corneal zone is smaller than it was when she first showed up injured in January.

Here she is on 1/31/16.

And on Feb. 17. Maybe healing. Wouldn't it be nice?

Of course, I would love to think she could regain sight in that eye, but I don't know enough about it to prognosticate.

And Ellen won't say.

I'll just love her as she is, and not hold back and hope for her to be any different or better. That's all we can do for the ones we love. Even, and especially, the ones we love most of all.

 Every time she stumbles back into the trees, I wonder if she'll show up again. And she always does.