Yark! Sure glad you had seen their eyes gleaming in time to miss hitting them. Sounds like you live in a beautiful place.....but just a teensy bit dangerous, deer-wise! Silly things!
OH, it's hunting season, plus mating season, so they are on the move at night. The acorns are plentiful and they are fattening up for winter. We are used to watching for deer around here, and bear, too. I haven't seen a bear since I've lived here, but my neighbors up the road about 1/4 mile have oodles of pictures of them in their yard. I know one got in my outdoor (huge) trash can one night because I heard it and it had to be really big to swipe it like it did.
Hey, Luv!