The other night I was awakened by...shall we say...the call of nature. Unwisely, I had consumed too much ice tea before heading off to bed. So, I pulled myself up off of my sleeping mat and found myself standing in front of my second story bedroom window.
As I typically do, I quickly scanned the back yard and the forest beyond for any signs of nocturnal wildlife. Initially, I didn't see a thing. In a few seconds, however, I realized there was a large dog just beyond the back fence. Hmm, I thought to myself, that dog doesn't look familiar. Wonder where it hails from?
About the time this latter question was percolating in my mind, my eyes became better adjusted to the faint light and I realized that it was not a dog at all. It was a small deer!
Nothing fantastic happened over the ten minutes or so I watched the deer. It moved back and forth in the small field behind my house, nibbling at the greenery here and there. Every few seconds it would perk up its ears to insure no predator was afoot and, when satisfied that all was still safe, it would go back to grazing. For awhile, it meandered into the yard to the south side of our back fence and the next door neighbor's back fence.
After a moment or two, it returned to its previous location. It stopped momentarily to watch a rather large raccoon lumber down one of the paths into the forest.
For me, this is one of the great joys with living in a small town in a rural county on the edge of the woods. We share our environment with a multitude of critters, birds, owls and even a few scary predators (bears and cougars). It's in the dead of the night when all is still that I often get a brief glimpse of this wonderful connection between all things.
And I wonder. What really caused me to come awake? Was it the tea in my system or the presence of the deer?
As I typically do, I quickly scanned the back yard and the forest beyond for any signs of nocturnal wildlife. Initially, I didn't see a thing. In a few seconds, however, I realized there was a large dog just beyond the back fence. Hmm, I thought to myself, that dog doesn't look familiar. Wonder where it hails from?
About the time this latter question was percolating in my mind, my eyes became better adjusted to the faint light and I realized that it was not a dog at all. It was a small deer!
Nothing fantastic happened over the ten minutes or so I watched the deer. It moved back and forth in the small field behind my house, nibbling at the greenery here and there. Every few seconds it would perk up its ears to insure no predator was afoot and, when satisfied that all was still safe, it would go back to grazing. For awhile, it meandered into the yard to the south side of our back fence and the next door neighbor's back fence.
After a moment or two, it returned to its previous location. It stopped momentarily to watch a rather large raccoon lumber down one of the paths into the forest.
For me, this is one of the great joys with living in a small town in a rural county on the edge of the woods. We share our environment with a multitude of critters, birds, owls and even a few scary predators (bears and cougars). It's in the dead of the night when all is still that I often get a brief glimpse of this wonderful connection between all things.
And I wonder. What really caused me to come awake? Was it the tea in my system or the presence of the deer?
the other night i had to go to the truck to get some gold bond for a nasty nettle rash that's been bothering me for over a week. anyway, it was about 2 AM and while i was out, i heard the sound of some wild animal. i have no idea what it was, possibly a lone coyote in the distance or a closer-by owl. it was kind of a muted "woo woo" sound. i love living close to nature!
ReplyDeleteWe can often hear coyotes howling across the river or back up in the hills to our south & west. It's really cool.
ReplyDeleteBTW, what's a nettle rash?
it's a reaction to the stinging nettle plant, similar to poison ivy. although looking online for remedies i found that you can surprisingly get it from things other than actual stinging nettle plants! weird. i'm certain my rash was from the plant, though, because it grows all over our pasture.
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