I look up from recording this interesting entomological event:
to see this.
I see deer in the winter frequently, but less often in the summer. There are a lot more people, and dogs, out walking this time of year. There’s more food available deep in the woods, and so less incentive to come close to dangerous predators. This one is startlingly unafraid of me. Perhaps she’s young and hasn’t learned. Perhaps she’s hungry. I can see ribs clearly under the glossy coat. Except for her weight, she doesn’t look sick, though-the healthy fur; the precise, graceful steps; the huge, mobile ears swivelling alertly at every sound speak of a creature fit and whole. She watches me as she nibbles her way across the path. She is very, very close, and she comes closer. I watch her back. I am drawing her shape, the sculpture of her bones, her shining endless eyes and narrow prey-face, on my memory, because when am I going to be this close again?
Finally, I take a long deliberate step back onto the path. She flicks past me in an instant, white tail flagging.
Posted by: Stephanie
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