Thursday, June 10, 2010

Sometimes you just have to choose.

Yesterday I was feeling pretty bad when I woke up. I had gotten a massive headache the night before and went to bed hurtin'. I woke up hurtin' too. It has been quite chilly and windy here the last few days, so the windows and doors are all closed. But I guess when Charles left for work, he didn't shut the front door all the way. But the time I moseyed out of bed, the wind had blown the front door wide open. I shuffled my way to the door to shut it and standing in our yard, just a few yards from the front porch was two deer! My first impulse was to run and grab my camera, but with my brain rushing information at me, I couldn't remember where I last left it. The information my brain was full of was about what I had learned about the different kinds of animals I've encountered and how they react when they spot me watching them. Turkeys bolt. They do not look back, they run to the hills as fast as turkey legs and their neck pumping action will move them. All chipmunks but one will scamper away. There is one out there who will stop and pose on a nearby rock for me to take a photo. Barn kitties will come to you with enough incentive. Cows? Well if it is Lichtey's one black and white cow, she'll run to the fence and wiggle like an excited dog until Kiwi pays attention to her. Bears. Well, I just don't think they give two hoots if you are standing and watching them. They lumber wherever they please. That is their luxury for being at the top of the food chain! But deer, they are a skittish bunch. They can sense me walking around in the house and usually I just see them from behind as they rush back into the woods. Today though I caught them up very close to the house, so for them to make a solid break to the woods would have to be a good gallop. So there I stood, knowing that I had to stand as perfectly still as I could, debating on moving to find my camera. I shifted weight from one foot to another and they moved a bit away while watching me. I knew they knew I was there. And I knew that if I went for my camera they would be gone and I'd be taking a photo of their butts headed into the woods. Not really the shot I wanted. So my decision was to find the camera to photo document this encounter or to just enjoy the encounter all by myself. I chose to stay still for about two minutes while those deer took their time walking away from me. Checking on me all the way back to the woods. Watching critters never gets old for me. After they had disappeared, I sighed and saw something else move out of the corner of my eye. It was Luna on the front porch. She had been watching the deer too. Well, I didn't get that photo, but at least I had someone there to share the moment with!

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