OK Dude, That's Close Enough!

This guy, still in velvet, (July 17) is one of six bucks that have been hanging around together this year and they seem to pass through the property once a week or so. All but one have racks about this size. The runt has a slightly smaller rack.

They usually all take off with startling collection of hooves hitting the ground when they see me, but today I was getting ready to close the rear-barn doors because we were making a run to the PO Box, and found myself being watched by this one. No sign of the others.

He even stayed there, about 35 feet from the door, as I threw a scoop of corn and feed out under the feeders.



 Within a minute or two he had moved down to just outside the living-quarters doors where I threw the treats.




I don't know why I bother with the feed (If you look close the feed is the little brown specks among the bright corn.) because he and the doe's that come down here regularly seem to prefer the corn and will only occasionally clean up the feed.  (More often than not, it's the raccoons that scarf down the feed. They plop down on their butts and without looking down, reach out with their front paws and pat around on the ground, grabbing up the feed while leaving the corn lay.)

Today we left the rear doors open when we departed on our little trip because closing them would have chased this guy off before he was done, not to mention forcing me to get withing 15 feet of him. . .



Update, Aug 6: OK:

Still in velvet (Though it looks like not for much longer):

Still hanging around despite the seismic crew that's been working in the area with their noisy vibrasize trucks, always three in a convoy, for the past few weeks. (And no, I didn't give them permission to come on our land. I used to work in that industry and know better, so made them work around us.):

And coming even closer!



This time he was standing 10 feet away just outside the barn door next to my computer desk.