FIVE SECOND STORIES

In the Neighborhood: 

11/8-lovely day with sun in the mid-50's-late afternoon shadows: 

Buddy heading out on patrol after a snack and scritch session with Dad:

Quarter past 4 pm, I glanced out the garage-side door and saw a doe browsing on the berm behind Johnny's:

She was grazing up a storm on grass and some kind of vine which she greedily pulled out of ground and munched on as it hung from her mouth. Then, she came down the berm and settled down next to Johnny's burning bushes:

C arrived home and we watched her, basking in the waning November sunshine: 

An hour later, she was still there and we began to worry-is she ill? I researched:

A white tail doe in Michigan lying down right after eating a lot of grass in early November is exhibiting natural, highly efficient survival and digestive behaviors. She is lying down to chew her cud (ruminate), conserve energy for the upcoming breeding season, and hide from intense hunting pressure.

1. Digestion and "Chewing the Cud"

Like cows, white-tailed deer are ruminants with a complex, four-chambered stomach.

The "Gulp and Go" Strategy: To minimize the time they are exposed to predators while feeding in open areas, deer quickly swallow large amounts of vegetation without chewing it thoroughly.
Rumination: Once her first stomach chamber (the rumen) is full, the doe will find a safe spot to lie down. She will then regurgitate small amounts of the grass back into her mouth to chew it thoroughly, which is essential for digesting tough plant fibers.

2. High Hunting Pressure in November

Early November in Michigan marks the peak of archery season and the approach of the firearm season (which opens November 15).

Nocturnal Shifting: Because of intense human activity and hunting pressure, deer actively limit their daytime movements.
Proximity to Food: Does frequently shift to feeding at night or during the low-light hours of dawn and dusk. When daytime arrives, they will bed down very close to—or even directly inside—their feeding areas (like tall grass or crop edges) to stay hidden and avoid drawing attention. 

3. Energy Conservation for the Rut

November is the peak of the whitetail "rut" (breeding season) in Michigan.

While bucks do most of the active chasing, does are constantly pursued, harassed, and pressured by mature males.
Lying down allows the doe to drop her heart rate, restore cellular energy, and build up fat reserves to endure the strenuous physical demands of the breeding season and the oncoming Michigan winter.

Duh! Like cows, whose similar behavior I had heard of. Deer are not bovines but both deer and bovines are close relatives in the order Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates).

I think this doe is a neighborhood girl-she was not bothered at all by someone mowing their leaves a couple of doors away and seemed totally at ease and safe ruminating in the sunshine. Is she the independent doe who last Winter, separated from her Mum and sister and fended for herself? Is she the doe I met last early June when I working on the berm and we had a moment? Yep.

https://bindiwankatterpi.blogspot.com/2026/06/planting-day.html 

C and I were laughing, remembering TV ads from our youth-both for Alka Seltzer:

1969-tagline: Mama mia! That's a spicy meatball! 

1972-tagline: I can't believe I ate the whole thing!

Ms. Doe stayed until twilight and moseyed off. Tis the season of light:

The clouds had typical cold air colors:

Buddy and his Mum watching the Tube together next to the space heater with plenty of belly rubs:

Hodgepodge for $400: 

Whoa! Big doggie: Irish Wolfhound 200 lbs!

AI glitch: I was watching a YT vid concerning weird ancient discoveries, one of which was a giant 60 lb. cross made of lead. AI pronounced it as LEAD as in leading a charge. Oy.

Works by Polish Art Nouveau illustrator and painter Edward Okuń (1872-1945):

Night (1903)

Concert (c. 1910-1912) 

Autumn Leaves (1912)

The War and Us (c. 1917-1923) 

Night Butterflies (1920) 

Russo-Ukraine War news: the high rate of casualties has forced Putin to send out press gangs onto the streets of Moscow to get more bodies into the collapsing front lines. Press gangs were made famous by the English Royal Navy beginning in the late 16th C through the beginning of the 19th C. After Napoleon was finally defeated and exiled, the practice ended as Britain reduced its navy.