A bit of morning magic

I saw a bit of magic this morning. I was getting ready to sit down at my computer but decided to go check the kitchen door first to see if Arthur was waiting to come back in.

I looked out and saw Arthur standing perfectly still on our driveway, and a deer slowly walking from the private drive, across the grass, towards him. I rushed to get my camera.

The deer came to within 12 to 15 feet of Arthur and stopped. Arthur was standing still, a silent statue. The deer and dog continued to look at each other.

I wondered if this was one of the grown-up babies we had watched over the last year. Or perhaps it was the mother. She sort of looked exhausted the way she was trudging across the grass.

Amidst the loud chorus of the birds, and with the early morning sun shooting rays through the leaves of the trees, the deer and dog stood taking stock of each other for four or five minutes. One time the deer looked looked away briefly, and Arthur took two quick and careful steps to turn towards, and be just minutely closer to, her.

By this point Arthur had begun to bark, but not viciously or exuberantly like he typically does from the window when deer appear in the yard.

Eventually the deer, her curiosity satisfied, turned

and walked back across the private drive and into the woods.

Arthur stayed on the driveway, looking back for her, for a minute or two, and then came into the house, curled up on his pillow in front of the window, and went back to sleep.