I froze before he/she had a chance to see me and managed to get my camera out of my purse. I knew we had deer living in the woods behind our building and have seen one or two from a distance, but never so up-close-and-personal. In many areas of Ontario the increasing deer population is considered a nuisance, and a danger to motorists, and there have been calls for culls to reduce their numbers. I can respect that point of view, but I also think they are beautiful, and as corny as it sounds, I was filled with a kind of wonder (and you'll likely never hear me use that phrase again) at seeing one so close that wasn't in an enclosure.
This one was awfully brave/foolhardy to come so close to the building which is
normally teeming with students, but as they won't be back til Monday,
the deer must have thought it was a perfect opportunity to snack on the tree right outside the door.
At one point it looked right in the window and I was glad that I was still out of its line of vision.
The best shot I could get through our dirty windows with my crappy zoom lens
He/she finally wandered off into the bushes next to the building so I was able to get outside without scaring it, and to my delight, I saw that it wasn't alone...
We had a mutual stare-down, and I felt compelled to thank them for the visit before they headed towards the trees.
I resented having to get out of bed early today to go back to work when a number of people in the office took the rest of the week off. I was also feeling kind of crappy from a cold that I got a couple of days ago, and it was freezing cold outside. I'm not a religious person by any means, but I do believe that we are where we are at any given time for a reason. I have always loved animals, and get a particular thrill from observing wild animals in their natural habitat, so I felt like I had been given an amazing gift. My hands were frozen by the time I got on the bus (you can't shoot photos in mittens), but I smiled all the way home. Not a bad start to a new year, I'd say.
