Deer

Now that I'm working a new library gig at a new place my bike ride is radically different and longer.  Depending on my route, it's 14-15 miles round trip.  

In the mornings, when it is quiet and very few people are out and I can hear everything, the solitude becomes a presence.  Though it's still very urban, there are a few woody areas on the way to my new library.  I see geese every day and also ducks and the occasional heron.  Deer are quite common too.

There's a very brutal uphill section on the way home that is four lanes of traffic on one side and a very long, two block meadow on the other side.  It's a rare chunk of land that hasn't been spoiled by buildings yet.  About once a week I'm usually treated to the sight of deer in the meadow, and I take a break from climbing and lean against the fence to watch the deer.  

While bicycling to work a few days ago I saw something that was simply out of this world.  A few blocks past the meadow is a park and creek area surrounded by office buildings.  I noticed a flurry of movement in the woody area and saw a flash of white.  Deer.

Hoping to catch a glimpse of them, I peddled faster.  Just when I realized I should slow down in case they crossed in front of me, they thundered from the woods about ten feet ahead of me.  I immediately braked (I was on the sidewalk) while they crossed the four- lane road that was thankfully devoid of traffic. They were so close I could feel the wind of their movement and smell their scent, something I can only describe as wet, muddy popcorn.  And their hooves made the most pleasant clacking noise as they thundered across the pavement.

After they ran in front of me and my heart slowed from the exhilaration, I began pedaling again.  But then, just a few feet in front of me, a fifth deer thundered from the woods, this time close enough to reach and touch her if I wasn't completely dumbstruck by her appearance.  I think she realized how close she was to me because her body swung away from me in mid-leap, and when she landed, she skidded sideways before finding her balance again.

During this moment of thundering deer (and my thundering heart) not a single car passed.  It was quite dark and I was still a few seconds away from the ten-block stretch of office buildings.  I've always wondered what it would feel like to live in a snow globe for a day or two.  Though it wasn't snowing, this moment is as close as I've gotten to feeling like I'm living in my own snow globe.  And who knows, maybe in another world or dimension someone happened to look at their snow globe at the exact moment the deer leapt from the woods into the empty street.  Perhaps we even shared the same gasp of surprise.