It was nearly dusk. A short lived wind had come through earlier this evening cooling the air enough to make it reasonably comfortable outside. A light intermittent breeze added to the comfort. It has been too hot the last few days for human beings to be out of doors except to hurry from one cool place to another.

After picking up the mail, I decided to stroll across the front yard and look for evidence of anything, any grass or weeds, actually growing. Nothing. Silly me. With the continued heat and no rain for more than a month, nothing was gutsy enough to even think about growing. Well okay, if it doesn't grow I won't have to mow it.

Votan was bouncing along beside me in his usual joyful manner. Gretchen lagged behind sniffing the telltale scents of whatever critters had walked, hopped, or crawled across the front lawn since she last checked it out. Since it was reasonable cool, I headed across the side lawn toward the back area where I like to sit in the evening and listen to the birds settling their families down for the night. If the biting insects would allow it, I thought to sit for a few minutes and listen to the lullabies and goodnight songs being sung as the last orange glow of the sunset was visible through the trees.

Nearing the top of the rise and glancing down over my favorite space, I spotted a deer at the foot of the hill at the same time he spotted me. Or perhaps he saw me first and waited for me to see him. He stood perfectly still and continued to stare up at me for a minute or so as if sending me a special silent message. We simply stood there gazing at each other. It was such a beautiful moment! Then slowly he turned and, with four graceful bounds, lost himself among the pines. What a beautiful experience! I sat down in my chair there and continued to savor the magic of the encounter until it became quite dark. Then the dogs and I slowly wandered back into the house.

The memory of that beautiful face and trusting gaze stays with me.

Goodnight and love to all,