PHOTO ARCHIVE: Backyard Deer – Bryan Park, Bloomington, Ind. – 2015-2026

My relationships with urban deer began in my Herald-Times staff writer days in the late 1980s, when I discovered a New York Times Magazine article titled Rats with Hooves.

I first encountered white tail deer on the streets of Bloomington circa 2010 by the old Sarkes Tarzian estate, now called Deer Park. Legend has it that the town father imported a deer herd, which was the custom of the fabulously wealthy in the mid-20th century.

By 2015, their progeny had migrated to my back yard and were urbanized enough to pose for photographs.

I put this photo archive together after discovering a spotted fawn standing less than 10 feet behind me while I hand sanded a wood project.

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I suspect a deer crashing through an IU Biology lab window prompted the story I wrote that turned up the NYT piece 40-some years ago. It included tales of white tails in convenience store parking lots in Philadelphia.

Regardless, I watched the Bryan Park Herd migrate west across the park on late night walks with my border collie mix Zoe and, with an eight-foot fence around my veggies, have lived harmoniously with them for at least 11 years now. Every white tail in my branch of the Bryan Herd Family Tree has studied me since they were born, for generations.

The most memorable interaction was a baby fawn left at my garden gate, 15 feet from my door, while mama took care of whatever matters demanded her attention. From that I learned the doe hadn’t abandoned her baby. Newborns have no scent and are perfectly safe left alone in the wilds.

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The Bryan Park white tails are not only family; they’re patient models, happy to show off their offspring, their racks, their coats of grayish-brown in winter and reddish brown in summer, their spots, their curiosity about my comings and goings.

Most importantly, they’re happy being photographed — up close and personally.

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