"Doe, a deer, a female deer."
-- Rodgers and Hammerstein, "Do-Re-Mi"
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| Deer in the woods 1-3-14 |
"When we lose the woods, we lose our soul."
-- Kevin Walker, These Moments Pass: Poems
A walk in the woods during winter, when the snow silences everything to a soft hush, is a beautiful thing.
It's like all the creatures, even the human ones, have their slippers on. It makes it easier to sneak up on skittishness without frightening it away.
Leo got a new camera for Christmas, so we bundled up and headed out to the woods so he could get some practice with it. He's the one who spotted these white tailed deer ahead on the trail. We had to focus through lots of trees and brush, but we were both lucky enough to capture a couple of frames before the deer wandered out of range. This is one of mine.
Usually if Leo shoots at anything in the woods it's with the barrel of a hunting rifle. It was nice to share with him a different kind of thrill -- the kind where you get off a good shot that makes a click instead of a bang. The kind where there's no blood, no body. The kind where the animal doesn't slump lifelessly to the ground, but instead strolls silently and gracefully on, which is also a good thing.
