Just not in my front yard

     Deer die in the winter here all the time.  The low last night was 13 degrees.  We certainly have had colder nights in the last 2 weeks, but the freezing temperatures  have kept the snow cover on the ground and it has taken a toll on  all the animals, but especially the deer.  Deer have caused problems around here with their indiscriminate browsing, or jumping out in front of cars after dark, and so I've never been too concerned when  hiking up the hill, beyond the deer fence,  I discover what is left  after the snow has melted.  It's just Natures way of keeping things in check.  The weaker die off and life moves on....... and it's okay until it happens right under your nose.
    We woke up this morning to find a small fawn curled up by the front porch.  Frost had formed on it's fur, but the head was up and it seemed alert.  I  went to the neighbors barn and gathered a bag full of grass hay, but the poor thing was too far gone..... For a time it used the pile of hay  for a pillow to rest on.  I mixed a gruel paste of dry milk, flour, sugar and warm water and slid the pan up close. The fawn did not even sniff at it.   I called the DWR, and all they do is come and pick it up after.....  So I have just waited and watched.   As the temperature warmed up I had hoped that the hay might get eaten, but no such luck.  The frost has melted off the fur as the sun has warmed the brick on the house... but it will only be another hour or so, I guessing. 
     This happens all the time on our hillside, but it is so much easier when they die in the dark, anonymously and 200 yards up the mountain, instead of the warmest little corner in our front yard.