Deer painting in watercolor

"Forest Spirit", watercolor deer painting

Last weekend we spent some time on a rural property we own in southwest Wisconsin.  One morning I bushwhacked to the far corner of the property to pick nettles and came upon two deer in the woods.  The doe looked at me curiously for the longest time, even after the buck had gone with a flash of white tail.

I’ve noticed that deer are often quite curious about human visitors to their domain.  Last Spring Equinox I attended an early morning ritual in the woods on Rib Mountain near Wausau.  On the way back down afterwards we came upon a similar small group of deer.  They, too, were extremely curious about these strange creatures on two legs and didn’t seem at all alarmed at our bemused chatting.  A cheeky red squirrel’s chatter, however, sent them bounding out of sight!