Thursday, May 15, 2008

Walking Among Deer



As I explored a new path in McKinley Woods, I thought I might have a good day because of the quality of the trail. It was a soft path of mush and muck, so I figured it was of lesser traffic. Immediately, my wish was granted. I froze in midstep as I caught a glimpse of a deer not 30 feet away. We both looked at eachother with curious eyes. My movements were minimum as I raised my lens after a minute or so. I couldn't believe I didn't get an alarm raise of the tail, typical of deer about to run.



I continued on and encountered another deer just a few strides away, and again, I froze, met his eyes, brought my camera up, shot off a few, and continued on my way. And again, no alarm...I walked parallel to them, as not to provoke stress & my gait was lazy as well.



Guess what happens next? Yep, same thing again, just a few steps down the path. I felt like I was a part of the herd and could join their gang. I couldn't believe it. I had to have seen 20 deer that day, and not one ran. It was an amazing experience to watch them graze on grass without the worry of my presence.



I went back a few days later with Cuttidad, to duplicate the experience, but they were not around. We ended up finding them at a flooded area, and when they saw us, (there were at least 30 of them) they ran.

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