peaceful passing

my husband came across this dead buck this morning on his daily walk. i didn’t get out to photograph it until later in the afternoon, and it had been lightly snowing all day. the neighbor had come out while i photographing and said the deer had been alive the day before, that she thought he had simply bedded down. i will never know what happened to him. but there is a certain peacefulness in this photo. i am told that freezing to death is actually a very peaceful way to die. i like to image his was a peaceful passing.

white tail deer (buck)