This was the scene I had just outside my yard this morning as I drove to work. This pair of white tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) was just off the road in a clearing in the woods of Gothe State Forest. The fawn wasn’t just born because it was dry and standing, but it was still a little unsure on it’s feet and the doe was being extremely attentive. So much so, in fact, that she didn’t seem to care much that I stopped and took some photos. This one was the first one I took and you can see that the fawn was somewhat concerned by me at first but it quickly went back to nursing. I couldn’t stay as long as I would have liked, but this little encounter reminded me of two important things. First, I am so incredibly lucky to live in a place where this is on my commute instead of wall to wall traffic. Second, even though I’m not much of a morning person, there is a lot to be said for being up and about early (I look forward to not having to be up before dawn every day once I retire, but I will have to get up early every now and then so I can still experience sunrises and scenes like this!)