In the tall grass

The grass was up to the deer's shoulder, which is how deer prefer it. Sika are forest-edge animals: they graze in the open and step back under the trees the moment anything changes. This one grazed with its head down and its ears up, the two working independently.

The spots along the back are the summer coat. In winter it goes darker and the spots fade, so this is the deer at its most decorative.

I stayed at the edge of the field and used the whole length of the lens. The moment I stepped into the grass it would have been gone, and the picture is better for the distance anyway.