Yes, deer . . . .

This has been an odd week weather-wise. Today we started out very cold, with some areas around us getting hail and even snow. (Yes, Virginia, there is snow in California!) Then later in the day the sun shone through the clouds and even though it was chilly, it was rather pleasant. As I went down to our studio cabin to exercise, I ran into some visitors:

Very placid they were, obviously keeping an eye on me, but patiently tolerating my presence.

I forget that some people in our world don't have encounters like this quite as regularly as we do here in the forests of Northern California. My wife views them as infernal pests who take any chance they get to decimate her gardens.

But there is a quiet dignity to them, crossing through our yard as generations before them have done, continuing a presence that started long before man existed.

Notice in this shot the other deer reflected in the mirror on the cabin wall.

Then, it's time to go. They actually hung around for about 45 minutes or so, even sitting down at one point to rest for about a half an hour. Then they were gone, though I never saw them leave. Quite a nice encounter.