Oh "Deer" Me!

Too bad that I can't yet handle a camera with my injured hand because I would have gotten some great wild life shots today. I had just finished feeding the horses. As I was walking back up the hill toward my truck, Fred, my dog, came barreling out of the underbrush being chased by a deer!! I don't know what she did to him but he was terrified and headed toward the house. I called him back and tried to get him into the truck but the deer had circled around and Sadie had now taken up the chase. Fred ran off and followed and in a few seconds, all three came running out of the underbrush again. This time the deer was being chased but it almost seemed as if she was trying to lead the dogs away from the underbrush. When the dogs gave up chasing her, she circled around and came up into the pasture where the horses were standing. All three horses had been standing watching all of this happen with rapt attention. The deer saw Sadie headed back to the underbrush and she ran after her. She leaped across the fence twice and came within a few feet of me. I was beginning to wonder what was wrong with her but it did seem that she was trying to get the dogs to chase her. I thought then that she must have a fawn hidden in the brush. This game went on for quite a while with the deer leading the dogs in loops until they were completely exhausted. They finally gave up and loaded into the truck. As I was backing up, I saw the deer had circled back yet again and was standing between the horses and watching us leave. It was the oddest thing I've ever seen and all I can think is that she must have been protecting her baby.