Encounters with Nature

I met Bambi today. He jumped out in front of my car as I was going down my driveway. Don't panic! I was paying attention and able to slow down safely so that he made it across with plenty of room to spare.

Since I had almost completely stopped the car anyway, I decided to see if I could still see where he went. I backed up my car a couple of feet, and sure enough. He stood a couple hundred yards into the woods right beside me.

If this deer had been standing right up against me, he would have come up to my waist. He was the smallest deer I have ever seen in real life. He was being so cooperative to stand still and let me look at him, that I pulled out the phone to take his picture. He stood there patiently while I figured out which button launched the camera application on my too-smart-for-me smart phone. I took a picture or 30.

Then, I realized that if I rolled down my window, I could get a better picture. Here's where my PSA comes in - You should never roll down your window in the summer while driving through the woods.

A ginormous insect rushed into my car at 80 MPH straight toward my face. I don't even know what kind it was. (We see weird insects out here.)

Of course, I screamed and began swatting as if my life depended on it. Who knows? Maybe it did.

After a 45-second car battle, the mysterious insect flew back out the window. I was shaking like crazy, but I managed to roll up the window behind it.

As I began to pull away, I looked back out my window. There was Bambi, still standing there, staring at me.