We had the remarkable sight of four bucks in our backyard Sunday night. It is not that unusual to see does in small clusters wandering through our yard, but bucks, much less a buck-cluster are rare. One of the group appeared to have a seven-point rack. Never saw that much antler.

They did not appear at all shy. Some looked directly at us as we trained binoculars on them from behind our glass doors. They just went back to browsing and munching our lawn. Some grazed directly under our bird feeders, but, to my relief, did not attack the feeders. I did not want to tap the glass door to scare them away.

The large buck was not at all interested in the spectators.  He did nuzzle and even groom the smaller bucks, but was otherwise oblivious to us and anything non-edible in our yard. You get a sense of the size of his rack, as he leaves the yard in the picture below.

I was less in awe than grateful to witness such a rare sight in our yard. The bucks made it clear that we were on their property, and they owned the grass  and trees as much or more than we did.  They hung around for the better part of an hour, and when they left, they ambled leisurely, in no hurry to vacate the premises.

I am honored to share with these amazing creatures. They are welcome anytime.

Just leave my bird feeders alone.