From the start of our life together, through the raising of our daughters, and still, Tom and I meet in the kitchen round about six for our evening meal. Monday, as the cold day grew old, I wandered into the kitchen to preheat the oven for our supper. Turning it on, I heard the long click, click, click as our geriatric oven labored to ignite.
As I waited, pulling out a roasting pan and cutting board, I detected motion just beyond our deck. There, in the stark, cold, blue haze of the retreating day, were a family of deer, knee-deep in snow, foraging in the cleared lot next door. Sensing my presence inside the house, I was being watched as much as they were.
They rummaged, deep, through several feet of snow, unearthing decomposing leaves and vegetation. A head would pop up with whatever was found hanging out and snow covering its nose. I admired their gracefulness as they walked through the deep snow and leapt over the mounds of dirt left by the developer of the property.
The deer ate their meals as I prepared ours, the daily rhythms of life quietly coexisting indoors and out.
As the deer moved purposefully along in their journey, they passed me looking out of the dining room window, then out to the front gardens they roamed. For a brief moment they stopped, perhaps casing the plots for a late night raid. The deer looked toward me, viewing them now from the living room window. They made their way to their trampled path in the snow, and off to their forest home, leaping over four feet of snow mounded by the city snowplows, their signature white tales at full mast behind them. I turned and went back to kitchen. It was round about six and time to meet my mate for supper.
I encourage you to click onto the pictures to get a better look at these beautiful creatures.
I don’t seem to have the deer I once had and I fear the young buck didn’t make it through hunting season. I never tire of seeing them when they do show up. Like every time is the first time. Beautiful images.
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I know what you mean about “every time is the first time”, Teresa. I feel exactly that way when the deer appear. They seem so ethereal in the dusk and snow. The bucks can be elusive, so, your young one may still be around. Thank you, Teresa. I hope you are staying warm. As cold as it has been here, I know you have had it colder.
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I love your friend who dropped by just at dinner time. They are lovely and so are your snowy pictures. You obviously had more snow than we did. Snow always looks so peaceful.
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I thought you might, Janet. I’ve come to know their patterns after so many years of seeing them, but, they still surprise and delight me (well, except for the lilacs we won’t have come Spring). Thank you.
We’ve had a few feet total here, but not the drifting you’ve had. It was the phenomena of lake effect snow for two days that really brought the accumulation. Snow does always look peaceful, doesn’t it? I love the scrunching sound snow makes underfoot, especially when it is very cold.
By-the-way, I was almost hip deep yesterday trying to get over the plowed piles from the city trucks that pushed the snow right up to the mailboxes. I feel sympathy for the mail carriers in this weather.
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Your lovely post and photos are the perfect way to end my day! How lucky you and Tom are to be together in your cozy home surrounded by nature and wildlife outside.
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I’m so pleased to know that, Janet. I hope you are safe and sound, with no frozen pipes. Indeed, we are lucky to be surrounded as we are by trees and animals and nature. It looks so magical when the snow falls. Thank you.
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And I love your pretty curtain valance by the way!
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Thanks, Janet.
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Oh just wonderful, Penny. I love that they were watching you as much as you were watching them. They must be hungry. What a delight!!
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They were really working hard for their supper, Debra. Thank you. I know you’ve experienced the pure joy and surprise at seeing deer, especially when you least expect it.
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I have thought about you as I have watched the weather reports from the mid west. Some of them have been contradictory, taking about never before seen low temps of -15 F. Well, even with my limited experience I know that it often gets below that for a few days each winter. My coldest was -26 F in January 1985…..it was scary, the air seemed fragile, as if it could snap…and it was so silent.
Anyway, I hope the clearly, prolonged cold spell isn’t proving too hard. You will have a freezer full, a good wood supply……and some spectacular views from your windows. Your morning visitors are so beautiful.
Stay safe, …. I will think of you, particularly next week, as we travel to Australia, where I understand, the temperature in Perth, where we land first, is likely to be about 104 F.
Fondest wishes for the new Year. Jx
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Janice, you’ve described the feel of such cold precisely; the air is fragile and silent and about to snap. You are right, of course, we have had such low temperatures before. I think the wind chill component, which we never used to hear, along with the fact that such a large portion of the continent was being effected played into this weather story.
Fortunately, the deep cold only lasted for about three days. Thank you, Janice. We are safe and snug and fed.
I’m so excited to hear you will be traveling to Australia – and summer down under. Have a wonderful time in what will surely be a lot of destinations – and take lots of pictures to share with us when you return.
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They are beautiful — and the pictures are even better when clicked to enlarge. It would be special to see these beautiful creatures from your window at any time, but it is lovely to feel that you’re on the same dinner schedule.
PS: Do try sushi sometime — start with the cooked filling ones.
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Thank you, Sallie. I’m glad you clicked for it gives a better view. I wish you could see them roaming around, especially around suppertime.
I will, Sallie. Thanks for the suggestion of where to start. Your delicious photo has me willing to try.
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What a gift! Absolutely stunning examples of one of God’s most heavenly creatures. Compared to our Southern deer these look very well fed. The Cutoff deer must know where all the best plants are! Your pictures are fantastic and I think it’s interesting that the angels on your window sill are facing out rather than in.
It got down to record-breaking temps here, 3 degrees, but our power stayed on until this AM when it was above freezing. It was only off a short while. The cats cooperated, even the one with ADD, and stayed in the basement 3 nights without much complaint.
Safe travels to you as you venture out. So good to hear from you today.
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Oh, Marilyn, it’s a mixed bag of emotions here. Just this afternoon I was forced to open the front door and shout “get out of the garden!” when I caught them munching the lilac bush. They are, indeed, well fed. A few were even checking out the Christmas tree. I love to see them late at night. Shadows moving slowly.
Wow! That is really cold for you. While sorry your power went out, I’m glad to hear it was for only a short while. Still, when it is that cold, it can take a good while to warm up. What good cats. They knew it was for their own good.
We’ve gone from snow to rain. There is bound to be flooding as the ground is so frozen. I thank you for your concern – and it was nice to her from you as well, Marilyn (though it took me so long to respond). Stay warm and safe.
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Penny, like you I just love to watch deer. There’s something so peaceful about them. They move with lightness. Every time one of my instructors says that in yoga, I think of a deer. Thank you for sharing these few moments.
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That is such a calming way to think while doing yoga, Andra. They are peaceful. I wish you could see them moving through the snow, especially when it is night and the snow covers gives a special brightness to everything.
Hope it has warmed a bit for you – and Carnell.
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Lovely souls, Penny. They carry an enchantment with them wherever they go. I am always seized by a conviction that they somehow empathise with me. Ludicrous, I know, but such very grave and calm wildness is something we all long to encompass somehow.
Thanks for sharing this. Love to you all.
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Enchantment. That’s the word I’ve been searching for, for that is what they bring. Thank you. I don’t think it is ludicrous at all, Kate, and I like the thought of deer empathizing with you there in your forest.
Love to all of you as well.
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Simply lovely, Penny. Their winter coats make them look almost chubby. 🙂
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They do look rather chubby, don’t they? Nature has a way of helping them through the cold, Karen. Thank you. Hope all is well and warm with you.
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Such gorgeous photos, Penny, and they really capture the almost crystalline nature of the air in such cold weather. Karen’s right that the does look chubby, but I’m guessing that, like the sheep on the hills here, they are already filling out with this spring’s young.
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You are probably right, Perpetua. There was a bit of “courting” going on here in the fall, and these are does, so, we are likely to see some fawn come early summer. They tend to roam our little acreage about this time of the day. Everyone is tending to dinner.
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How beautifully you have captured the presence of the deer, both in your words and images. They are so watchful. I enjoyed the sense of you and the deer being in parallel process as you attended to your evening feeding time.
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It is often such a “parallel process” (loved that) Juliet, and I think, at least for our dinner time, both the deer and I have grown accustomed to each other. Thank you.
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