Oh, deer!

Today began on a somewhat surreal note.  I woke up at about 2:45 a.m. and noticed that the spotlight in the backyard, which is activated by a motion sensor, was on.  That usually means we've had a nocturnal visitor, like a raccoon, or that a cat is skulking around, in which case I would have to be sure it was gone before letting Beau out.

I looked out the window to see if I could spot a critter and was startled to see a deer in the backyard!  A deer!  That was a first!  It wasn't very big and looked a little ghostly as it daintily walked around the undergrowth.  That was such an unexpected sight that I had to wake Bruce up, even though it was so early in the morning, so that he could see the deer, as well.  Also, if I hadn't, he would have spent the rest of the day, and probably the week, telling me I had imagined it.

I went into the backyard to see if there was any chance the deer would stay where it was, but it saw me and immediately jumped into the bushes.  I had a shower, fed the dogs and then went into the backyard again.  The deer was no longer in the rough area in which I had last seen it, so I thought it had disappeared and I let the dogs out.  I soon heard the deer crashing through bushes at the opposite end of the backyard, far in the right corner.  I called the dogs and Belle came to me immediately, but Beau must have smelled the deer and was hot on its trail.  Next thing I knew, the deer was sprinting past me, just a couple of feet away (boy, was it fast!), with Beau not far behind (and not nearly as fast) and Belle standing near me, looking bemused.  Beau stopped as soon as I called to him while the deer dashed away and jumped over the fence to safety.  The dogs were very excited and spent a lot of time sniffing various spots around the backyard, but unfortunately for Beau the deer was nowhere in sight.

Such an adventure!