{roe} deer           
                                
                                
                                    
                                          
                                          
 [picture of a  deer head,  in a  garland 
        woven of various grasses.         
 the  deer  has a crown of rowan,  and is 
         looking at the viewer.]          
                                          
                                     
                               
                                     
                                          
 in the north,  the deer is often used as 
 a symbol  for  the  forest's agency,  or 
    its self-knowledge. watching eyes.    
                                          
 warmer  regions instead  ascribe it  the 
 knife  (teeth,  rumors of violence),  or 
    obsession (unblinking eyes, always    
      awake, scrapie-like behavior).      
                                          
                                     
                               
                                     
                                          
 the deer is a cross  between a horse and 
 a  dog.  it  bears  a  resemblance  to a 
 young   salix    tree,   and    has    a 
     sweet-smelling nose, like honey.     
                                          
 the  horns of a deer is called  antlers. 
 they have a complex  fractal shape,  and 
 are  believed  to  enable  the  deer  to 
 "fold" through passages which  should be 
 too  narrow for  them. antlers from dead 
 deer   seem    to   lose   this   power. 
                                          
 a deer's heart  has two  chambers, where 
 it stores  all the  secrets it might see 
 during  the  course of  it's  life. with 
 age  the  secrets  will  harden  into  a 
    caramellized structure, which will    
 eventually block the flow of blood,  and 
              kill the deer.              
                                          
                                     
                               
                                     
                                          
 [picture  of a  deer  head. from the far 
 side,   looking  the  other   way.   its 
          antlers are bloodied.]