White flag

Lately I've taken to walking on Doriva Beach Road all the way up to Twin Lakes Road and back. It's a nice one hour walk. I'm very careful about traffic (of which there is almost none this time of year). I give oncoming cars eye contact and a smile, step off onto the shoulder, and wave them thanks when they give me a wide berth. When I hear one approaching me from behind, I shoot a glance over my shoulder to let them know I hear them and make sure they are in their proper lane.

I told you that story so I could tell you this one. Today I saw a whitetail deer on the shoulder (not the one pictured above, but you get the idea) a few dozen yards ahead. It had already spotted me, and I could tell by the fact it was moving its white "flag" it was considering a run for cover. But it waited, watching me, standing very still. I stopped, too.

Suddenly it occurred to me that if I wasn't careful, I might startle the deer into running at a bad time. If it ran into the road just as a car approached from behind me, I would be witnessing an accident.

So I turned my head briefly to look back over my shoulder. No car, so I could safely continue to observe the deer. However, when I turned my head back, she was gone.

Here's what I think happened: because my hair is white, I think the deer might have read the back of my head as a "flag" when I turned to look over my shoulder, causing her to skeedaddle into the underbrush.

Yes, I just compared my hair to a deer's ass.