July 28: Deer

I rode to work this morning with a co-worker, and as we pulled into the office parking lot, she exclaimed, "A deer!" A doe was dashing down the dam access road from our parking lot, tail flashing, though she was shielded in part by trees between us and the river. We could see enough of her to follow her progress until she went off the road and down an overgrown embankment. Then she disappeared. Even though we'd moved up to the office porch for a clearer view and would have seen her had she made her way into the woods on the other side of the office, she'd vanished completely. This was a large doe, too. She was probably right there in front of us, watching our every move with those predator-wary eyes. Amazing how a big wild animal like that can slip out of sight so quickly and without a sound.

I think this is the same doe that has visited the office in summers past, a couple of times with a very young, spotted fawn. I've taken photos of her standing right outside my office window. Another neighbor I'm always pleased to catch a glimpse of, however fleeting. It's partly that fleetness that's keeping her alive, after all.

Summer doe grazes
in ferny fields, in daylight,
yet always wary.