One of the things I enjoy about living in the woods is that I pretty regularly see white tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Most of the time I see them grazing beside the road when I’m driving and can’t take any photos, but last fall I was hiking in Gothe State Forest when I turned a corner and came face to face with this pretty doe. She was startled at first, but since I didn’t move, she didn’t either. We stood and watched each other for several minutes, which allowed me to get some good shots of her. She was even starting to relax a little when something moved in the woods across the path from her and she raced away. Luckily, I was shooting images of her at the time and caught her retreat, too. It was a really interesting encounter, and even though we only watched each other for a few minutes, we were beginning to form an understanding. For deer, alertness and running are their main defenses against predators, so I understood. I just wish we had had a little bit more time.