On the road…. again!
Afghanistan to Zambia
Chronicles of a Footloose Forester
By Dick Pellek

Where The Deer And The Etcetera Play

When he looked out the back window this morning he spotted the waving tail of a grey squirrel. Nothing unusual about that; except that the squirrel in the black cherry tree was within a few feet of two whitetail deer that were munching on grass; and right next to a rabbit that was doing the same. All of our foot-footed visitors were within the same frame of vision. Now, that is unusual even for this tranquil slice of real estate close by Chincoteague Bay.

There was a baleful, yearning and melancholy message regarding tranquility each time the Footloose Forester heard the western ballad about “….a home on the range….where the deer and the antelope play.”  Now that we have a home where we daily see the deer and the etcetera play, we know that such a ballad is being sung by our visitors every morning, noon and night; so close by that we can sometimes hear the sounds of hooves, or the munching of teeth, or squirrelly chatter. And let’s not forget the chirps of birds.  Since we now live in an ecotone that includes species that were unfamiliar to us, we now hear bird songs that we never heard before. 

 Can you see the 10 deer in this photo?

As noted by actress Betty White (age 90), we should…”Look at everything as though you were seeing it for the first time…or last time.”   That advice should include listening to the songs of nature that surround us.