Late Summer Update

While I have been busy all summer restoring the exterior of our family farm house, I have also taken time our most every morning to photograph the local wildlife.  As August drew to a close I observed my first whitetail buck shedding his velvet on the 30th.

A couple of day later he was wanting to spar but his sparring partner, having not yet shed, was very hesitant to joust.

As September progressed more bucks appeared with hard antlers and frequent sparring has become the order of the day.

The bucks will not engage in serious dominance fights until the rut begins however even the sparring matches can have their violent moments.

And all the while does are still nursing the fawns.  Nursing sessions are becoming shorter as the does milk supply decreases and the fawns dependence upon milk lessens.