Return of Roger

Last summer, Jason and I enjoyed our "pet" deer (a deer that seemed to spend lots of time in our yard) so much that we named him Roger.  You can read more about Roger here and here.  This year, Roger returned and though we now know that Roger is a "she" rather than a "he" (hard to tell last year when he was a baby), we're sticking with the name.

Before you skeptics speak up and say "How do you know it's the same deer?" trust me, we know.  First of all, most of the deer in our yard (and there are usually quite a few) come in groups.  Roger is always alone.  Those deer are skittish, constantly whipping around their heads and running off at the slightest noise.  Roger seems to feel at home in our yard, taking his time, not seeming phased by anything.  He even sometimes finds a shady spot in the bushes and lies down for a while.

Here's a few shots I took through our window a couple of weeks ago.  Our back yard is not very deep.  To give you perspective, Roger was maybe fifteen feet past our back deck in these pics.

Last weekend, we had an exterminator come out to check on some stuff.  Even though the man was outside checking vole bait boxes, Roger just stood there, maybe twenty feet away from him, staring at him.  Tuesday night, Jason and I watched Roger while we cleaned up the kitchen after dinner.  We watched him graze in the back yard for a while, then followed him as he walked around to the front yard by going from window to window.  If he looked up at us, we didn't stand still or hide -- we waved at him and said "Hey, Roger!"

What?  He's our buddy!

The Great Outdoors

I've mentioned before that Jason and I like to photograph nature, especially the smaller, more unnoticed things found in nature.  The more we photograph, the more attuned we have become to looking for those plants and creatures that so many others passed by without a second glance.  Sure, we often look silly doing this, staring three inches from a tree looking for insects on the bark or hovering over a bush trying to sneak up on a butterfly before it flies away, but the pictures always make it worth it.

Last night, we took advantage of the cooler temperatures (and of Jason's dart night being canceled) and did a mid-week photography trip the arboretum.  We go often, but we always find neat stuff to take pictures of.  Last night, I was struck by how intricate nature is.  Leaves of all different shapes and colors, flowers with five petals and twenty-some petals, spiders, and bees.  Here are a few surprises from last night.

I was taking a picture of this tiny spider and didn't even see the tinier guy right beside the berry-looking things until I was editing this morning.  How many more things were there that I didn't see?

This is a bit philosophical, but we always pay so much attention to the fronts of flowers that I was really surprised by how beautiful the back of this flower was.

For years, I had never seen this type of spider, but now we see them everywhere!  Just as I got excited about seeing this one, I looked around and realized there were four more on this same plant!

I love the pop of color of that lone green leaf among all the purple leaves.  Hold strong, little greeny, you make the plant so much more interesting.

I saw the 7-day forecast today, and this week's weather is going to be gorgeous!  Even if you don't take pictures, get outside this week and really look at the nature all around you.  You'll be surprised at all you see!