June 21, 2024

Natsu

I woke up a little before six, ready for a cup of coffee with my wife. I was in good spirits and we talked enthusiastically about the day while looking out the front windows. Before we finished drinking our coffee, two deer had walked by the pasture, looking as magnificent as ever. Koda saw the deer, but didn’t bark. I was proud of him since, daily; I instructed the dogs not to bark at the deer, reminding them that this was also their home. Not that they didn’t understand what I was telling them, it was more that they disagreed with my assessment of the situation.

After feeding the dogs, my wife and I took a walk down the main road. We used to do this regularly, walking until the road ended at a stop sign. Perched on the power lines, we saw a new bird that looked like a small raptor. It was light gray with a faded orange band around its neck area, possibly a kestrel. On the electrical pole, a small downy woodpecker landed and inspected the odd tree.

When we crossed over the bridge that traversed the creek, there was a lone doe standing in an empty field. She stood still with her head erect, watching us. We stopped to capture a quick video of her before moving on toward our destination. The morning was sunny and there were no clouds in the sky. The temperature would hit 92 degrees today, so we were happy to return home before it got too hot. On the dirt road, my wife found a large piece of rusted iron, pointed at both ends. We carried it back to the house to be discarded so it wouldn’t find a home in the tires of a passing vehicle.

For breakfast, my wife made burritos using a package of soyrizo she purchased at Wegmans. This was one soy product that tasted as good as the real thing, chorizo sausage in this case. The breakfast was delicious. Sitting down outside for breakfast was a great way to start the day.

Before I made it to the restroom, my boss called. We talked for a bit and then I showered, got dressed, and started work a little early. During my lunch break, I opted to take a short walk into the woods to check the bird station I was building. I was letting the area rest after cutting the grass, killing all the bugs, setting up my blind, and adding some feeding spots. I knew the place needed some time before the wildlife returned.

It was ninety degrees, but in the forest's shade, it didn’t feel too bad. The warm air felt like it was coming out of a hairdryer, and the leaves and twigs on the trail all crunched. We needed some rain. While making my way to the bird feeding area, I heard something move about thirty yards to my right. I froze to watch for movement. While I didn’t see an animal, I saw shadows on the forest floor move twice, so I backtracked to a trail that went by the area.

When I arrived, I saw four eastern gray squirrels on the ground playing, chasing each other around the trees. Once they saw me, they all scattered like mice. This was the second time I had seen more squirrels in the area. Spring had been kind to these small comical creatures.

I continued on toward the creek, moving to the marshy area to look for wildlife. I hid along the trail in some tall brush, but saw nothing. The sun was up at full force, and the entire marsh was lit by the harsh sunlight. I knew the animals weren’t dumb. They were most likely bedded down in the shade somewhere, waiting for the temperatures to cool before venturing out. A large red-shouldered hawk dipped into the area, flying low across the marsh and into the woods. As it passed into the tree line, it flew by, six feet from my head, never seeing me. It was close enough for me to see its eyes looking the other way, a satisfying experience.

I was getting hot, so I moved along the trails back toward the house, pacing myself so I would neither overheat nor stay in the woods too long. When I arrived at the bird feeding area, I noticed that something had eaten all the bird seeds and taken all the mealworms. This was good news. This weekend, I would work to get some better feeding areas set up and make perches out of small dead trees. I arrived back at the house sweating, ready for some cold water.

My wife arrived home about an hour before I finished work. The dogs and I were all happy to see her. Finishing a rotation was a huge milestone. I went back to my office to finish my last hour of work. When I was done, I noticed the house was silent, so I tiptoed through the living room to see if my wife was asleep. She was not on the couch or in the bedroom. When I looked out the window, I saw her in the hammock in the backyard. Axel was lying down in the hammock beside her.

I quietly snuck out the back door and then popped my head up on the deck, yelling at Axel that he was snuggling up to a married woman who was my wife. Axel, always ready to play, shot out of the hammock like a bullet, taking after me, while my wife struggled not to fall out. We all laughed. I jumped in the hammock with my wife and we talked until dinner time.

We ate dinner inside the house at the dining room table. My wife told me about her talk with her school counselor and some conversations she had with other students. It turned out everyone was feeling the pressure of graduation and felt unprepared for the medical field once they were out. The counselor assured my wife that she was exactly where she needed to be after reviewing her grades and rotation evaluations. It did wonders to help my wife let go of her worries.

After dinner, while the dogs were eating, my wife spotted a doe and fawn out in the pasture. The fawn was tiny, and we wondered if it was newly born. I grabbed my binoculars, and we traded them back and forth while the fawn sprinted through the pasture at full speed. Nature seemed to have a sense of playfulness, and we felt lucky to witness the event.

While watching the doe and fawn, a third deer appeared out of the tree line. It was the young buck with short antlers covered in velvet. When I saw the young buck, I immediately knew the fawn was recently born. I had photographed this same doe and buck just a few days ago. The buck’s antlers and markings on its side were distinct, and the doe, who was pregnant just a few days ago, had a minor wound just below her right eye.

The last time I photographed them, I remembered worrying about the deer’s pregnancy, because it was getting to be late in the birthing season. When I checked the dates on my pictures, I realized the fawn had been born on June 20th, the first day of summer. I named the fawn Natsu, or Summer, in Japanese.