Oh deer

I dragged myself out the door at 07:30 this morning. My body refuses to believe that I am a morning runner. It doesn't matter that it gladly got up at 05:30 almost every day last summer; it has forgotten how wonderful it is to breathe in the morning air.

Yet somehow I made it to the forest. I wanted to run a favourite trail that I hadn't visited since last autumn, one that takes me to another lake further away. I also hoped that I would see some deer.

The long and winding road

I have seen deer in the forest several times while running or walking, but have never managed to take a photo of one. Sometimes they run away immediately, other times they pose graciously but then I've left the camera at home. It hardly matters. They are a beautiful sight.

As I ran down the path, I looked around for movement or the tell-tale colours of a deer. Suddenly, I stopped. Across a field in the distance, I saw two white dots. It was too far away to be sure, but I thought it might be deer. I snapped a photo.

Close...

Closer...

Bingo! That white pixel in the middle that you can hardly see? It's a deer!

Still unsure, I kept looking. Was it just my imagination? After all, my eyesight is not exactly pilot-good. But then, one of the dots moved. The dot was painted on the tail of a deer, and that deer was not alone. It had at least two friends with it, which I could see when they started moving. They disappeared into the bushes.

I started running again. I stopped now and then to take pictures. I've come to enjoy my Wednesday runs more and more. I love how I get to decide how far and how fast I run. I love how I can take it easy, and stop to take photos or listen to bird song. I love how I could stay out all day if I wanted to. No stress, nowhere I have to be. Just me, the forest and bird song. And deer.