Bambi Hunting

My wife, Carolyn, and I love to go Bambi hunting. Now, before you get all upset, that's just our little code word for going out in the countryside to look for deer to observe in the wild. That's really the ultimate catch and release program. we just look at them and enjoy them in the wild. Lately we've been able to enjoy many of the summer's fawn's (the real Bambi's) playing and chasing each other through the fields. They are fun to watch.

We are fortunate to live in Milford, Michigan, were one can go in almost any direction from the Village and be in a rural setting where there are deer. We used to go to nearby Kensington MetroPark, where we'd normally see a few deer, maybe 6-8. Then we "discovered"(isn't it great how humans have the egos to think they've discovered things that have been there forever) all of the great farm areas around Milford that really harbor the deer. I guess the deer were smart enough to move out of Kensington a few years back when the Park Department decided to start their culling program.

We don't just look at the deer, we count them to and keep track of how many we see and where. The summer months provide slimmer pickings that in the winter. Deer don't move around as much during the daylight hours in the heat of summer. A normal summer Bambi hunt might yield a count of 8-12 (we always feel good about getting into double digits). We rarely, but occasionally get skunked (no deer sightings at all), usually, when we go out too early. You have to go out right at dusk for the best results. A good night might yield 20 or more and the best we've ever done in a single outing was 43 (on a nice cold winter afternoon).

Now, we're not about to share our "secret places" for deer spotting (another ego trip...like no one else in the whole world has been down this particular public road where we see the deer) , but I will share with you that this pass time can be as relaxing and decompressing as staring at a green dot - See my August 12 posting - "Staring at my green dot". We all have our own coping mechanisms. I guess one of mine (and maybe the second best one that I have) is going Bambi hunting with Carolyn. I never seem to come back with the same knots in my neck or queasy feeling in my gut.

There's probably something really Zen or New Age in this whole thing, but I don't care to look for it. The ride out, the act of searching intently for deer, and then the pure joy of seeing something in nature that is so cute and so innocent is always enough to melt away the cares and pressures of the day, at least for for me, for a while. So, if you need a coping mechanism, try deer spotting. It doesn't cost anything and it can be very relaxing and rewarding. If you can't release that last little bit of competitiveness or anal need to be "doing something" ( I guess that explains a few things for me, too) then try keeping count and keeping track of where you see them. The Bambis are out there, let them help you, too.