Morning Surprise

This morning when we opened the front door there was a herd of eight deer grazing in our side pasture just about 15 feet away.  This is the third time I've seen this small herd on our property since I've been here but this is by far the closest they have ventured to the house.  My camera was handy and it had the 250 mm lens on it but the card was still in the computer from last night's download.  I quickly got everything put together and started taking pictures through the glass door, which was streaked and running with the moisture of the cold morning.  Luckily I had on a sweatshirt and a couple swipes with my arm cleared it off better than I expected.  After a short moment they crawled under the barbed wire fence and crossed our driveway into the hay meadow where they hung around for another 45 seconds or so before running across the road into the woods.  A car came by while they were nearing the road but they simply waited until it had passed before disappearing into the forest.  With the exception of muzzle loaders, deer season for rifles and bows has ended and in another two weeks they will be safe from the hunters for another year.