June 13, 2024

Close Encounter

I woke up feeling rested. My mouth was in a little pain, but not from the shots or cleaning at yesterday’s dental appointment. My jaw hurt from having my mouth stretched open for ninety minutes while the dentist worked their evil. Before getting out of bed, I stretched my arms overhead, extending my legs as far as I could. I was ready for the day.

Coffee with my wife was fun, and I was happy all my dental appointments were done. While letting the dogs out, I stepped onto the deck, looking west toward the grove. A brilliant sunrise was starting, emitting fiery shades of orange and yellow, lighting the sky just above the horizon. The glowing light behind the trees looked like a smoldering wildfire. I called my wife outside to see it.

A little later, I saw my wife off, and she later called me to let me know she arrived at her shift safely. Meanwhile, I sat at my desk writing, glancing out the window occasionally to watch a doe and a young buck feed in the pasture along the trees. The small buck had nubs protruding from its head that weren’t yet antlers. The small spikes looked a little like the ossicones on a giraffe’s head. After my writing session, I left for my morning walk into the woods.

It felt good to step into the grove this morning. The day was bright and there seemed to be more light. The air was balmy, but it was early, and the woods still felt cool. In the distance, I heard the faint hum of farm equipment. While some crops in the area were still young, I recently saw several tobacco fields where the crops were already flowering. I moved north through the pines, and when I passed by my ground blind, I picked up the odor of a musky animal. I never saw what it was.

The mosquitos were out in full force near the creek. While my boonie hat was effective at thwarting biting flies, I had to pull out the stowed mosquito netting to keep the hungry mosquitos off my face and ears. When I moved eastward along the creek’s bank, I picked up a strong floral scent in the air. I stopped for a moment to breathe it in.

While moving down the trail, I paused at various locations to take photographs. This was a quiet endeavor, reminding me of the walking meditation I saw Japanese monks do when I visited various temples in Tokyo and Kyoto. Being out in the morning was my own silent practice. I saw a strange beetle on the trail. At first, I thought it was having trouble walking, but when I stopped to study it, I noticed it was digging a small hole in the soil. I watched it quietly for about three or four minutes. The forest was completely still. 

After observing the beetle, I took two steps on the trail and when I looked up, there was a deer standing about ten yards away, staring right at me. We locked eyes for a moment before the deer turned and trotted off casually, stopping about twenty yards away behind some trees. While I didn’t have time to pick up my camera to shoot a photo, seeing the deer this close was a gratifying experience. It was the closest I had been to a live deer.

I made a few clicking noises at the deer, who was still relatively near. I could only see the doe’s hindquarters and tail, but she appeared to be feeding. Maybe she had a fawn bedded down nearby. I moved on to the grove, energized by the experience. 

While walking through the grove, I noticed how good I felt. Whether it was stress from work, a subtle illness, or lack of sleep, today, all the fatigue had lifted. My steps were lighter and my body moved with ease through the woods. I felt grateful for feeling like my old self again.

Work started off busy, but quieted by noon. For lunch, I ate some leftover chicken wings we recently smoked. I also ran some quick errands, which included taking the trash to the service center and disposing of several large cardboard boxes that the new kennels were delivered in. After, I filled my car up with gas.

The small gas station in Bailey was unique. There were three pumps spaced far enough apart for three cars, but each pump only served one type of gasoline. While each pump at most gas stations gave you three choices of gas grades like Unleaded, Super-Unleaded, and Premium, this station required you to pull up to whichever of the three pumps had the product you wanted. Because of this, there was always a line, since most people in town wanted either diesel or plain, unleaded gasoline.

I made a stop at the Piggly Wiggly to pick up cream for coffee and Q-tips. My wife asked if I could pick up some corn on the cob and a couple of steaks for dinner. I added fresh asparagus to the list. Before heading home, I crossed the street to a small liquor store to purchase a corkscrew for my wife. The man and I were both confused how they didn’t sell corkscrews or bottle openers, since most of their products required them. He asked if I tried the Pig, and I told them they didn’t have any. When I drove off, I saw the man through the shop’s window, scratching his head, still thinking about where I could find a corkscrew. People moved slowly in this area and I loved the pace of this small rural town.

The rest of my workday was relatively quiet. When my wife arrived, we sipped a cup of coffee and talked about our day. I was happy to hear she had an interesting shift and did several procedures. It was the first time I heard her sound so positive about what we referred to as Week Three. Week Three was the inevitable disdain for a workplace and its people on the third week of a rotation. That seemed to be the perfect amount of time for any negative people or procedures to grind down on her nerves.

Once work was over, we put on some music and sat outside. The sky was deep blue with wispy clouds. I saw a large contrail moving west to east, an odd flight pattern for this area. While sitting in my chair, I looked out on the backyard. The trees looked so green, and the mimosas had exploded in growth. The air was full of gnats and flies, but as the sun moved toward the horizon, they all but disappeared. At 8:17 PM, the first cicadas started chirping. It was a beautiful spring evening, and I was happy to feel better and spend time with my best friend.

My wife was in high spirits and she talked to me about a story we should write together. We started brainstorming ideas, mostly being silly, and within an hour, the story became a book, and then an entire series of books. We laughed while presenting our outrageous ideas and thinking up characters and their names. 

When we got hungry, we threw the asparagus and corn on the grill. Twenty minutes later, we added the ribeyes and when it was all done; we ate outside on the deck. After dinner, I went with my wife to drop off table scraps in the feeding area. We laid out the food and then walked down the trail through the cedars to watch the fireflies. When we came out of the woods, my wife spotted a doe and her fawn on the back edge of the pasture. We watched them, wondering if the fawn was new. It looked so small. It was a great way to end the night.