Do You See What I See? Yes, She’s In There!

Deer are camouflaged for a reason - protection - and their disguise works incredibly well in winter. If you look closely, you can just make out the doe in the left third of this photograph. Her dark colors blend perfectly into the brush between our house and the tree line.

When we first noticed her, she was the opposite of camouflaged. A dark brown deer walking in the white, freshly fallen snow stands out like she was standing under a neon arrow. But she nibbled her way down the ridge, sampling every single bush and tree she could reach. Apparently she’s not finicky.

But once she was close enough to hear the dogs barking, which I suspect astronauts on the moon could hear, she followed her instincts and headed for the brush. I still think Molly looks enough like a deer that she wonders why there are all these other Great Danes who get to walk around outside all the time. And then she gets cranky and leads the other three in the song of their people.

Once in the brush, she quickly blended in among the dark, bare limbs. She moves slowly and quietly enough that you have to really focus to see her. I love that we can see those God-given qualities, even in nature, that teaches them to hide and survive. Maybe she’ll be one of the new moms this spring showing off her babies, who will have camouflage of their own.