• Shannon Slaydon
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  • Added 13 Nov 2010
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Graceful

I took this photo recently at our place in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia! This beautiful doe was right outside our front door, eating the corn we left out for the deer! There were also three good size bucks in our yard at the same time! This is an abstract edited in Adobe Photoshop. I have a story behind a doe. Four years ago, a doe came up to me while I was trying to take it's photo. She wasn't scared and walked on passed me to go up on our ridge, which is full of huge trees. The next year, this gorgeous doe would walk out so gracefully from behind the same tree almost every single day. She would come out slowly from behind the same tree and at the same time and just watch us for hours! She was so beautiful and so very graceful and so curious! And... she was magical, mysterious and mystical, so... I named her Mystical, Mystie for short! I could tell her from all the other deer because of her grace, her long, slender neck and her incredible beauty! She even brought her yearling once to show him us. But... he wasn't too interest in the people on the back porch because he was too busy playing. So... she never brought him back with her. Last year, I saw her lying in our grass several times, watching over the other deer while they graced. She would just lye there in the cool, damp grass for what seemed an eternity, but it was hours! I found her still there at 3:00am once. This year, we can't understand where all the deer went to. We hardly saw any on the Blue Ridge Parkway and while there usually are ten or more at a time gracing in our front yard when we are there, we only saw the doe in this photo, my Mystie, two yearlings and three to five good size buck! The first time I saw her this year was in the road. She stopped and stared at us for the longest time while I took tons of photos of her and then when I took more photos of her eating up the corn we put out for them! I know hunters come on our property while we aren't there and I pray every year that I see this magnificent and beautiful animal! Maybe, if she is mystical and magical and mysterious, she can allude hunters! They aren't supposed to be coming on our land, but they do! One diary nearby got a permit to kill any deer that came on their property. They had killed over five-hundred even before hunting season began. The worst part was... they just dumped the bodies to rot somewhere. They could be feeding the poor! That may explain why we hadn't seen as many deer this year! I only hope I see Mystie again next year and years to come! She truly is a gift, one to appreciate and admire and to be in awe of!

7 Comments

Anonymous Guest

Anonymous Guest 16 Aug 2014

Oh, this is a fantastic photo!

Artist Reply: Thank you for the great compliment, Laura! I really appreciate you taking the time to look at my photographs!

Anne Whiteway 30 Mar 2013

Oh how I love this! I am so glad I happened to find you today on A W. I am new here so I have a lot of exploring to do. You have so many great images. Blessings to you.

Artist Reply: Thank you so much for such a great compliment, Anne! I really appreciate all your wonderful comments. This deer was right next to our front door at our place in the mountains. We usually have a dozen or more that come out and graze while we are there. I just love our place in the mountains! It is our Heaven upon Earth! Did you read my story that went with this photograph?

John Cappello 28 May 2012

This came out Tremendously well.

Artist Reply: Thank you, John! I appreciate your comments on all my photography!

M Smith 13 May 2011

She's a beauty. I love watching deer graze in the yard. Last fall we had one who brought her twins with her everyday. They were just adorable. Your shot is just great!

Artist Reply: Thank you so much for your great comment! I really appreciate you taking the time out to view and comment on my photos! Did you read my story about this deer? I think your photos are beautiful also and I will look at more of them very soon.

Olga van Dijk 25 Mar 2011

Beautiful shot and accompanying comment Shannon.... -Love and Light, Olga

Artist Reply: Thank you so much for you great comment, Olga! I truly appreciate it! This deer came right up to our front porch in the mountains to feed. I took the photo from inside our house.

ruth sears 14 Nov 2010

The part about the hunters coming on your land is terrible,do you have up no trespassing signs and they ignore them? also to just let them rot is a crime,people can be so heartless and selfish,if only we could just leave the other animals on this planet to some peace from our constant barrage of slaughter in one form or another,I used to see loads of deer here in N.H. too,but only an occasional one now,we used to have fawns and does come up into our back yard near the garden then they built yet another house back there and no more deer or the beaver that had a pond back there,every time I go out for a bike ride and go up roads that used to be just woods,it is all houses and plots of land for sale,no end in site till all is gone and I mourn for that,btw this is an excellent photo.

Artist Reply: Thank you so much, Ruth, for taking the time out to look at my photos! I really appreciate it! We have no trespassing signs up, but that doesn't stop the ones that know our place is vacant most of the year. We have even had people we know ask if they can hunt on our property. This photo was taken while we were up there in October. I was looking through our front door. I only wish I had gotten a photo of the three bucks that were also there. I did get one photo, but he was not close. I can see if I can fix it in Photoshop. You can tell that the buck were fighting over the doe because of the little wounds they had. Last year, we had ten or more coming out at the same time to graze in our yard. We have put corn down the last two years. We use to put apples out. One year, when we were packing up the car to come home, there was a yearling almost climbing into our car. I imagine it was looking for apples. My imagine got the better of me and I imagined the other deer off behind the bushes, the ones that put him up to it, snickering! They are truly beautiful animals full of grace and wonderment! I wish we could do more to keep the hunters off our propertry. We need to put a sign up saying that they will be prosecuted for coming onto our property!

Sharon Gonzalez 13 Nov 2010

WOW WHAT AN INCREDIBLE PHOTO, SHANNON. WOW. SO SHARP, CLEAR AND WHAT AN AWESOME LOOK YOU CAPTURED. WOW.

Artist Reply: Thank you so much for your wonderful comment, Sharon and for taking the time to comment on all my photos! I really appreciate it a lot! I can't believe I took this photo through an old screen door! Please read about what I wrote about this doe! There's a story behind her! I may have already told you before!