Buttons Meets His Apple ...

“A simple act of kindness and compassion towards a single animal may not mean anything to all creatures, but will mean everything to one.”

                     ~ Paul Oxton

             ~ founder & director of 

         Wild Heart Wildlife Foundation

My favorite white-tailed deer button buck – Buttons, as I call him – meets his apple on an October day in the park as his mama doe stood close by.

I began photographing Buttons as a precious white-spotted fawn, then a sweet button buck and now a beautiful yearling, tossing him many apples, which he loves eating, along the way. It’s a true joy and blessing to me personally and as a photographer to watch this white-tailed deer grow.

Stand By Me ...

“When the night has come

And the land is dark

And the moon is the only light we’ll see

No, I won’t be afraid

Oh, I won’t be afraid

Just as long as you stand

Stand by me

So darlin’, darlin’

Stand by me, oh, stand my me

Oh stand, stand by me

Stand by me

If the sky that we look upon

Should tumble and fall

Or the mountain should crumble to the sea

I won’t cry, I won’t cry

No, I won’t shed a tear

Just as long as you stand

Stand by me

And darlin’, darlin’

Stand by me, oh, stand by me

Oh, stand now, stand by me

Stand by me

Darlin’, darlin’

Stand by me, oh, stand by me

Oh, stand now, stand by me

Stand by me

Whenever you’re in trouble, won’t you stand by me?

Oh, stand by me

Won’t you stand now?

Oh, stand, stand by me”

       ~ “Stand by Me”

      ~ originally performed by Ben E. King

                            ~ 1938-2015
                 ~ released April 1961

      ~ written by Ben. E. King,
             Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller

According to Ben E. King, the title is derived from, and was inspired by, a spiritual written by Sam Cooke and J.W. Alexander called “Stand by Me Father,” recorded by The Soul Stirrers with Johnnie Taylor singing lead. The third line of the second verse of the former work derives from Psalm 46:2-3.

There have been more than 400 recorded versions of the song, performed by many artists. It was featured on the soundtrack of the 1986 film “Stand by Me.”

A majestic four point white-tailed deer buck and beautiful doe stand side by side as a peaceful hush sweeps across the field just before a midwinter snowfall begins to tumble from the sky in this high contrast monochrome shot I captured in the park in the late afternoon of a February day.

Whitetails In The Winter Mist ...

“I please myself with the graces of the winter scenery, and believe that we are as much touched by it as by the genial influences of summer.”

                      ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

                                ~ 1803-1882

Four beautiful white-tailed deer does show off their whitetails in the winter mist as a light rain falls in the late afternoon in the park.