Deer on the highway

we have seen very few deer this winter as the snow has been so deep it is difficult for them to move around easily. However we saw this one yesterday running down the yellow line in the middle of the highway. We worried that it might encounter oncoming traffic, however none appeared and we breathed a sigh of relief when it decided to move onto the shoulder of the highway. a much better choice lady deer!

There was no oncoming traffic, but there was traffic behind the deer. We were following it on the shoulder and there was traffic coming behind us. We could not stop for fear that the traffic behind us would pass and hit the deer. Finally the deer made its own decision and jumped into, or onto, the snowbank of the ditch to our right. You can see the depth of snow on its legs in the photo as it jumped, but to live and run another day was its choice.