Saturday, around 11 o’clock I headed over to the American River Bend Park for a walk.  I didn’t take the dog with me because I wasn’t sure if we’d get rained on or not and I didn’t want him getting wet and cold…  Everything was pretty soaked there, but it didn’t rain while I was walking.  Saw lots and lots of Sulphur Shelf Fungus; it seemed to be everywhere.  And a lot of teeny-tiny mushrooms popping up all over the place, but nothing big yet.  At least the spores a waking up with the rains.  When I was photographing some of the mushrooms, I looked up to find a young spike bull Mule Deer sitting in the grass in front of me.  He’d situated himself behind a treefall, so people walking or driving by on the paved path couldn’t see him unless they walked out to where I was fungus-hunting.  He let me get to within about 15 feet of him before he stood up and walked off.  I also saw a Red-Shouldered Hawk and got a few photos of him while he shook his feathers out, some woodpeckers, and a group of Turkey Vultures sitting on the river bank.  Heading back to the car, I came across another young spike bull (with slightly longer spikes than the first one)… and there were two big adult bucks with him.  All of them were following after a pair of does, who were ignoring them.  They’re such handsome things.  One of them came right out to the edge of the road where I was standing taking pictures, but then high-tailed it out of there when a truck drove up behind me.  I stepped out the driver’s way and he grinned when he passed me: it’s a nature-lover-connection-thing… I walked for almost three hours (which is pretty much my limit), and then headed home.

And here’s a very short video of two of the more mature bucks:  http://youtu.be/INmHHpErNk0