July 4, 2024
The Fourth Of July
This morning we slept in later than we had in a long while, staying in bed until eight o’clock. We counted the time, deciding we had slept about ten hours. Yesterday, my wife studied late, and today, she wanted to start fresh, so she planned for the long sleep. It surprised me we slept so late, since I first got out of bed at six o’clock when the dogs started barking at the deer crossing the pasture.
After feeding the dogs, we made coffee, drinking it outside under the morning sun. It was bright outside, but the heat was still manageable. A pleasant breeze blew through the yard, stirring the limbs of the tall trees, waking the chime near the garden. The squirrels and birds were active, as were the dragonflies and butterflies zooming and fluttering about.
The morning began with chores. My wife watered the garden while I put our dirty clothes to wash. After, I cleaned my office desk because my wife wanted to use it over the weekend to study. She cooked up a quick, delicious breakfast of rye toast and scrambled eggs. After eating, she planned to sit down in my office and take a four-hour practice exam.
I grabbed everything I needed for the morning, changing clothes, preparing to spend time inside my ground blind. I took all my normal gear, adding extra batteries, plus a few cold drinks and salty snacks. As I crossed under the awning to head to the trailhead behind our house, there was a bird either hunting or gathering materials for a nest. It was completely oblivious to my presence, and when it finally saw me, it flushed, chirping obscenities at me.
When I was about twenty feet down the trail, a deer barked and I saw a herd running north past my blind at the bottom of the hill. I wondered if I would see them again. About fifty feet from my blind, another deer from a different herd barked, and they all moved west away from where I was setting up.
I brought a bag of bird food and spread it around the feeding area, hoping to attract wildlife. The corn I had previously laid out was gone, so I left my gear inside the blind and trekked back to the house to get more from my truck. Since I had time to sit in the blind all morning, I didn’t mind the unplanned trip to grab the corn. I returned to the feeding area a little later with two one gallon bags full of deer corn, spreading it in small piles around the area. After, I zipped myself up in the blind and waited.
The forest always took about twenty minutes to settle down. After hearing my footsteps, smelling my scent, and seeing my movement, the wildlife needed the place to be devoid of signs of me in the area. During this time, I checked all my camera settings and made a few quick notes on my phone. Then I sat, knowing the best thing I could do was to keep quiet. Being still also helped to keep me cool in the rising temperatures.
As I stared at the logs and saplings just outside the blind, my eyes caught the movement of a black snake crawling from a low branch onto a log, slithering underneath it. It looked like a rat snake which was common in the area, although I encountered several king snakes at the creek. I made a note to be more careful when placing food in the area. There was no sense in getting bitten by a snake. I figured the bird food attracted mice, so it was likely a good hunting spot for snakes. I wasn’t the only one watching the feeders.
The area was relatively quiet. A few squirrels showed up, as did several birds. After sitting in the blind for a couple of hours, the temperature was getting hot. I sipped on some water to stay hydrated, but I also had to use the restroom. I wasn’t about to make my presence known in the forest after two hours, so I just sat still and kept quiet.
My patience earned me a reward. A whitetail doe was in the area feeding, and she slowly made her way toward the blind. About half an hour passed, and she still hadn’t walked into the open. I was trying to stay relaxed as the sweat dripped off my forehead, burning my eyes. Finally, after forty minutes, she came out and fed on the corn.
The deer was extremely cautious, looking like she might bolt at any second. She was about ten or twelve yards away, near enough that I could hear her teeth grinding the corn she ate. I took photographs and videos, trying not to spook her. A mosquito net from my hat covered my head to hide my face.
The encounter was intense. These deer were not tame. This wild animal with excellent eyesight, hearing, and olfactory abilities was so close and had not fully detected my presence. The battery on my main camera was almost out, and I needed a spare from the camera bag I brought to the blind. However, I had to unzip the bag painstakingly until I could finally fish out the battery. I replaced the battery, seating it as quietly as possible. Every click of my camera, every breath I took, and every movement of my body felt tense and extremely loud. Every time I looked up over my camera, the deer was staring straight at me.
As I was shooting photos, I wondered what my experience meant on a deeper level. Here I was, doing everything possible to hide from the wild deer. In my mind, this marvelous experience was taking place between me and the deer, but this was not the deer’s experience. It didn’t know I was there and didn’t want me around. I suddenly felt like a stranger to the woods, a type of imposter shaking hands with nature while hiding my face. I knew any sign of me being in that space would instantly break the spell. One click or movement, and the whole thing would end.
The deer continued to drift south while it fed. I tracked the deer, shooting photographs for another forty minutes. When the deer was about sixty yards away, I packed my things up and exited the blind, taking deep breaths, feeling dizzy from being in the heat for so long. The moment I unzipped the blind, I heard the deer bark and run, followed closely by my dog Bodhi barking at the deer from my backyard several hundred yards up the hill. My clothes, soaked with sweat, felt hot and heavy. Dehydration was setting in.
I made my way through the forest into the grove and back toward my house. My wife was taking a study break and told me she had scored well on her practice exam. After I cooled off, we drove into Wilson and picked up some food from Panera, parking in the lot and eating in the car. The cold lettuce from the salad tasted good as I sipped on a large green tea, trying to rehydrate.
On the way home, along the dirt road, we met a neighbor and his wife riding on their golf cart. We stopped to say hello, and they let us know they were thinking about us, wondering if my wife was done with school, and if we were leaving North Carolina. They sounded like they wanted us to stay, so they were happy to hear my wife had a month left, that we loved North Carolina, were planning to stay, and that my wife was looking at a job that was not too far away. The man said the town was a simple drive, calling out the highway numbers used to get there. I loved living in a small town.
My wife studied more and later in the evening, we stepped outside and drank a cold IPA together, and talked about school, work; life. I was proud that she studied so long and hard, despite the holiday. Putting the time in would go a long way towards building confidence for her exam. I assured her we’d relax and do anything we wanted the following weekend.
I cleaned up the kitchen, encouraging my wife to take a walk into the woods at last light. She left without her phone or watch, carrying only some pepper spray and a fully charged headlamp, as the forest was already dark. Later, we both showered and got ready for bed. As I made a few last notes before going to sleep, I heard the first holiday fireworks starting up. Happy Fourth Of July.