A Mexican Standoff … with Deer

I recently took a walk unlike Estelle Yetti’s Peace Walk. One day, a neighbor and I were hiking behind our neighborhood when we spied two deer standing right next to the path. Munching away, they casually glanced up at us, stared, and then lowered their heads to resume eating.

“Is this a Mexican standoff?” my neighbor nervously joked. According to Cambridge Dictionaries Online, a Mexican standoff is “a situation in which people on opposite sides threaten each other but neither tries to come to an agreement.”

To my neighbor, these deer were a threat. Uncomfortable around dogs, she certainly didn't want to pass these adult doe. Did we pose a threat to the deer? I thought so and expected them to run off. Instead, they just keep eating for a few minutes and then languidly turned to stroll into the woods.

In fact, I was the more startled party. After staring back at the deer, I fumbled with and dropped my phone in an attempt to take a picture. By the time I got my act together, this is the only view I could capture:

I guess this Mexican standoff did come to an agreement: the deer ate undisturbed and I was granted a photo opportunity!