Oh Dear, Oh Deer!

Here's the scene – a quiet winter day, the rain is over for now, but clouds still cluster on the hilltops. No cruise ships in port, no tourists, not a soul around. And I am alone, walking slowly along this road into town, intending to check my mail at the post office. Suddenly I hear rustling in the brush uphill to my right. Before I can even think of reaching for my camera, three deer bound across the road directly in front of me and dive down the hill to the left.

I grab the camera, switch it on and point it at the deer as they scramble down this slope. They're too fast for me.

Aha! Gotcha! They stopped for a snack. The forest fire we had in May took out a lot of the greenery in the interior of the island that the deer feed on in wintertime. So we are seeing more and more of them close to town. After some further grazing and a bit of mutual back scratching, these three flicked their tails and took the shortcut downhill toward the grocery store. Wonder if I'll meet them there?

Now, if you want to read more about animals on the move, check out Getting Stitched on the Farm. Lots of sheep charging along those Massachusetts country roads. Really, really funny.