Fallow deer

Had a lovely day out with friend and fellow blipper Matthew Lynes. This morning we went to Richmond Park to photograph the deers. We saw a herd of Fallow deer quite early on, took a few photos and then wandered down to Pen Pond before looping round the park and returning to the car park. On the way back we saw the same herd of Fallow deer relaxing by the side of the road. They didn't seem too bothered by us and even allowed us to get quite close! I particularly like this pic of a young buck. We didn't see any of the Red deer today, whether we simply weren't in the right place or they were in hiding with their young.

Male deers have antlers which start growing in the spring and are normally shed at the end of winter each year. Antlers are made of bone which grows approximately 2.5cm a day. A soft covering of velvet helps protect the newly formed antlers which is lost in time for the rut in September. Fallow bucks over three years old usually have palmate, or flattened, antlers.

In the afternoon we drove into Richmond town centre. Had a walk down by the river Thames and then wandered round the town. In the evening we had a lovely dinner at Wagamamas. I was well prepared with a fleece and raincoat this morning as there was rain forecast but, i'm glad to say, the forecast was wrong and it turned out to be a beautiful hot, sunny day :)

Thank you for all your kind wishes on my last blip. Blip is a wonderful community of fabulous, supportive photographers and friends. My laptop has been on the blink for a couple of weeks (hence the back blip), but i'm looking forward to viewing all your journals once again :)