Dear Deer

We have a herd of deer living in our yard (okay, maybe 46 acres isn't exactly a yard, but what else do I call it?). Last summer as many as 15 of them ate their way through our yard each day. One (Mommy)had a baby who was half-white half-deer-brown; we named him Bambi.

We didn't want him to be killed during hunting season (or any other, for that matter), so we fed the two of them all winter, and they came to the house every evening.

By late spring we could tell that Bambi was a male. No, not that way. He started sprouting horns. By the middle of June, Mommy had run him off and was expecting her new baby at any time. We haven't seen Bambi since then, but we're hoping he'll return with his buddies soon.

Finally we could tell that she'd given birth and was so skinny, poor baby, so we continued to feed her, giving her extra corn. We hoped that she'd bring her new baby to the house but figured it wouldn't happen till September, at least. We were surprised when, on August 13, she brought her new twins to the house to be fed. They're tiny, still have their baby spots, and both are perfectly healthy. Mommy's looking a little better, too.