White-tailed Deer, Dear!

L. Frank Baum visits Egypt?

Above: “Can you see me?”

I took a short walk last evening, as the light was fading. There are deer everywhere, even here in town, but we don’t usually see them. They blend in so well this time of year.

Here’s a blow up of the top pic.

I took a short cut home and spotted this buck with a doe on the other side of a tennis court.

Here’s a short video of what happened next:

A common sight for many of you, but perhaps of more interest to others lacking the abundant whitetail deer. When we were children there were very few deer around. A sighting was something to note. Their numbers gradually increased as the fence rows disappeared, then they started to move into towns.

I found this graph on a site called Research Gate. It’s from a paper called “Searching the Internet to Estimate Deer Population Trends in the U.S., California, and Connecticut” by G. Kent Webb, downloadable here.

Surprisingly the data shows that deer populations have actually gone down since 2016. We are only now getting back to deer populations that are similar to those before European Colonization.

I kept walking, with an eye out for hawks. A Great Blue Heron who was patrolling the edge of the small frozen lake rose up gracefully, slowly circled the little lake, gained altitude, then flew off to northeast.

The heron reminded me of my post earlier this week (Who Made These Tracks? ) when I tried to identify the prints left along the stream that drains this lake. I followed the trail to the bridge and climbed down to creek side.

Although the tracks were now several days old, I could still make one out, though now there were lots of fresh squirrel tracks. I wanted to show you just how big those Sandhill Crane feet are so I snapped this pic.

No Sandhills were in evidence last night. I hope to get over to Kensington this afternoon. They will most likely be the last to head south as they have lots of food and water available along the Huron River.

Can you see in the picture above how the stream reflects the trees and sky, like a mirror, to the right of the tracks? It called to mind this quote from a lesser-known book by L. Frank Baum:

I think the world is like a great mirror, and reflects our lives just as we ourselves look upon it. Those who turn sad faces toward the world find only sadness reflected. But a smile is reflected in the same way, and cheers and brightens our hearts. You think there is no pleasure to be had in life. That is because you are heartsick and — and tired, as you say. With one sad story ended you are afraid to begin another — a sequel — feeling it would be equally sad. But why should it be? Isn't the joy or sorrow equally divided in life?”

L. Frank Baum, Aunt Jane’s Nieces and Uncle John (1911), published under the pseudonym Edith van Dyne:

This was the sixth in a series of ten books. You can listen to the whole series free at Librivox.

This led me to yet another discovery:

This book was also written by L. Frank Baum, initially anonymously. He was concerned that “masquerading as a novelist” would hurt his reputation as a children’s author. Have you read it? I’d never heard of it. Wikipedia has an interesting Summary of the Book. I’ve put it on my long list of books to read for our January trip down the Nile. The novel is based on a trip Baum took to Europe and Egypt in 1906.

I want to thank “Philosophers” at “Philosophy Quotes,” Wisdom Letter #154, published yesterday, for turning me on to this quote. It’s a great little newsletter, easy to read, short and sweet, with five quotes from the author of the day. Worth a subscription:

The Wisdom Letter #154

I am excited about our series on Morocco. We have finally figured out the technical issues that will permit multiple co-authors to contribute to the same piece. Currently we are hoping to run the series in mid January. Like the upcoming series on our travel to Egypt, we will try to cover the history, geography, and travel in Morocco.

Thanks so much for traveling along~! So happy you’re here~!