A Naif in the Forest by Darrell Berger

Wing Tips to Hiking Boots: Musings of a New, Full-Time Poconos Resident

This week’s photo is taken twenty feet from the edge of a nearby creek. The brush is flattened in an almost circular pattern. I suggested to my wife it might be a crop circle where aliens had landed.

However, she was a chemistry major and is prone to scientific explanations. She said they looked like where deer had lain. They were indeed deer-size. Subsequent visits showed it to be not only a deer bed, but also a deer lavatory. I had not noticed such clearings before. I have spotted a higher number of deer recently. It is reasonable some would choose to relax here.

Three deer have visited us so often I can recognize them. One is a fawn, who cavorted joyously while mom seemed to say, “Focus! Time to eat.” We responded with more deer repellant and netting to protect our garden, which proved as futile as always.

I had never asked myself, “How do deer sleep?” A quick web search explained that this clearing was indeed a likely deer bed. Deer rest when they feel safe, sometimes returning to favorite sites. They seldom sleep for more than a couple minutes at a time, and often for only a few seconds.  They can also sleep standing up and with their eyes open. They often sleep during the day, grazing at night.

They have adapted to being hunted. The automobile is their most treacherous predator, coming upon them very fast, making no forest noises, no natural odor.

I’ve been seeing deer around here since I arrived, as we all do, but this was the first time I had seen an area where deer slept or rested. I can now recognize such an area, and not confuse it with a UFO dock. Maybe, just a little and very gradually, I’m becoming less of a naïf in the forest. However, I suspect the depth of my ignorance has barely been plumbed, as future entries will demonstrate.