January 26, 2024

Happy Friday. This morning was exam day for my wife, so we slept in until 5:30 AM and took the morning slow. After some coffee, we grabbed two dogs, Koda and Axel, and ventured into the woods for a walk. The sky was lit, but the sun had not yet made it above the horizon, and the forest air showed signs of the cold with its thin veil of fog. The pine grove look eerie, but we were all in good spirits.

Koda and Axel were excited to be cut loose in the woods, which is definitely the highlight of their day. As soon as I opened the gate, they sprinted off into the front yard, assessing whether they should jump in the car or if we were staying on the property. These first few minutes with the dogs seem frenetic, but I’m always impressed with the dogs’ speed as they cover a hundred yards effortlessly, in just a few seconds.

We headed down the trail to the pine grove, where Koda and Axel sprinted ahead. I saw Koda look up and charge, his tail curled and taught. Axel following in quick succession, his demeanor transforming from household pet to that of a wolf. On the opposite tree line, across an empty crop field, a large herd of deer were on the move. I instinctively called out to the dogs and after the third yell, they finally heard the command, “Nein”, or “no” in German. The dogs froze mid stride, watching the deer for a few seconds before turning and running back to us.

I counted at least twelve deer, including a large buck I’ve captured on trail cameras in the area. It was the first time, however; I had seen the buck with my own eyes. Exciting. Deer have a peculiar way of running, their long gait makes it look like the deer are jumping, probably because we are not used to seeing animals with such a long stride. They move fluidly with no apparent effort.

When we watch nature documentaries showing deer fleeing from predators, we can't help but think that the deer are panicked. But when you see a deer run full speed in person, the power of their movements strikes you. While they move gracefully, there is a certain aggression in their running, like that of a wild stallion. They move with purpose.

The deer ran off to the south, while my wife and her entourage turned north toward the creek. We walked slowly as the dogs ran ahead, always circling back, making sure they knew where we were. When we arrived at the creek, both dogs jumped in. Koda, with his thick, fluffy fur, looked comical, his wet legs exposing his scrawny limbs, making him look like he was walking on sticks. After a quick break, we all turned and made our was back to the house. Koda disappeared for a few minutes, a little trick he likes to play on us, but we all reunited before we made it back to the grove.

The day was busy. I had a lot of work to do before the close of the week, and my wife had an exam and classes in Durham. Before she arrived back, however, she received word she had scored an “A” on the exam. She’s really smart, but when I tell her that, she always says, “No, I’m not smart, I have to work really hard to learn”. I always respond by telling her that is what being smart means. General Medicine was over.

At last light, I took a walk, alone, into the woods. My time there, in the morning, had been a little distracted by the dogs. Now I took my time, walking slowly and as quietly as I could. While I usually take the trails on the east side of the property, I repeated my course from the day before. In the area, I stumbled upon a large tree that had been blown over long ago. It arched down to the ground, looking dead. But there was one branch that found a hole in the forest canopy and had grown up toward the sky, creating what looked like a second tree growing out of the fallen trunk. As they say, “Life finds a way.”

Carrying my small point and shoot camera, I stopped to snap pictures every so often. I made my way north until the trail joined a more familiar area. After finding a suitable spot, I stopped and sat down, making some notes in a small pocket journal I carry. It was a good reset for finishing up another of my wife’s rotations. The next one, however, would affect us more, as she would be gone for a month, working in a different city.

In the evening, Wild Mike’s pizza happened, and the suds flowed. It was a rare evening treat with the weekend starting and my wife having little educational responsibilities, as she had about forty-eight hours to recuperate before her next sprint started. We listened to some country music, sipping beer and watching old videos from my phone. There were sweet videos of our departed dog, Taetumn, and others with the other dogs when they were pups. We laughed at ourselves, watching videos from our life in Texas and talked about how lucky we were to be here in North Carolina.

The party went on until the wee hours of the night, which around here was about 9 PM.