A while back when Alice made her special little post,
Greetings From Alice, she showed you this photo of a cute little baby deer. I told her she could show anything she wanted from that day, and this turned out to be one of those things. I think she did a very good job with her post, but there was only one problem.
The problem was that
I wanted to be the one to show you the deer. So when I saw that she had picked that one, I was extremely disappointed. Still, I would rather be the one that was disappointed than her, so I didn't say anything. I just let her show the photo, because I wanted her to be happy.
I was glad I didn't spoil anything for her, because as it turned out, she was very happy and proud of her post. It was the only time I ever let anyone else write anything on here, and she knew it. She had been going out on those trails with me since before I had this blog, so when she asked to write a post here, I knew that it was the right thing to do.
Anyway, back to this little deer. We didn't actually see it at Carpenter, where we went that day. We were on the way home, when I remembered a road that lead into the other side of the forest that was behind my house. I actually never went in there before, so I asked her if she'd like to go sight seeing before we finished our trip.
Well, that is one of Alice's favorite things. It's the real reason she likes to go on the hiking trips with me. Alice is a very curious little girl, and very much like the Alice in the stories, so she immediately wanted to go.
The road is an old dirt road, and we had no idea what to expect. When I turned my truck onto it, I noticed immediately that the road went uphill right around a blind corner. It wasn't a very wide road either, so I had to drive carefully. I was watching out for any vehicles coming from the other direction when I saw it.
It seems after not seeing any animals at all at Carpenter, Alice's magic of Wonderland began to work again! There was that little deer walking around in the trees by the side of the road. I pointed it out to Alice, and she immediately wanted to stop and get some pictures. But I couldn't do it, because of the blind turn we were on. So we kept on going.
We drove up the road and discovered that there was a quiet little neighborhood up there. It was like being in the country right inside the city. The people that were there weren't like country folk at all though. People from the country are mostly friendly, but these people just stared at us with suspicion in their eyes.
So we drove back out hoping that our little deer was still there. I knew the road by now, so I knew I could stop safely. As we approached the spot where we saw the deer, I began to drive very slowly, looking out for it. Sure enough there it was, still in the same area, but further back in the trees.
I stopped the truck and began taking as many pictures of it as I could before another car came, or the deer decided it didn't like us anymore. The road stayed quiet of other vehicles, but the deer began to edge away from us. I didn't want to frighten the little child deer too much, so I handed the camera to Alice, and we drove away.
There is actually a good sized herd that lives in that forest, but that little one must have decided to try a small adventure of it's own. Hopefully it made it back home safely. City deer like ours seem almost like pets, so they are mostly protected. As long as they stay in their little forest, they're safe.
That's the story of the little deer in Alice's picture. We went home happy with lots of stories to tell. I'm glad I let Alice give everyone the first sighting of the little deer, because I think it was really there for her anyway.
Related Posts
Hi to anyone seeing this. This is my first post. In upcoming posts, I will look at nature trails and show locations of a few of my favorites. Nature trails are some of the best free adventures you can find. As time goes on I will show different places to see, and the writing will get better. Any comments are of course welcome.
In this picture is something really different than I expected to see. I'm usually on the lookout for an animal or a cool looking plant in these nature areas, but as I always tell people, the fun part of an everyday adventure is that I never know what I'm going to see.
"Who are you?" said the Caterpillar.
What do you think the first thing I saw was, when I got to Sumac Pointe? That's right, it was these Geese! They saw me as soon as I saw them. I figured I should walk slowly so as not to alarm them. No need.
I've been taking a lot of pictures of deer lately. As I've encountered them more and more, I've learned a few techniques that help me get pretty close to them. I've learned some of these from other sources, and some I figured out from experience. Some of these are a combination of both.
This is my very first attempt to go hiking in the snow. I didn't get very far, but I got some pictures of it. All of that white mist you see in the air is snow. It was snowing really hard out here! The wind was blowing very hard, and it was probably a bad time to try this. I know I'll be doing it again, it was fun!
It's Game Time...
That does it!!! I'm taking over this blog! Ratty is going too far, and it's time for some squirrel to put a stop to it. So this website belongs to us squirrels now. Now I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Mr. Nutz, and I represent all the poor defenseless little squirrels.
It's time once again for a tour through nature, with your ever humble guide, Ratty, The Everyday Adventurer. It's time to take you to the magnificence of new Spring, and the wonders of life. I will show you the odd, the bizarre, the geese!
I promised yesterday that I would show you some of the pictures of the birds I took when I found a new boardwalk nature preserve. I decided not to wait to show you my absolute favorite. I have many more pictures that are every bit as good, so you may like some of those even better.
A while back when Alice made her special little post, Greetings From Alice, she showed you this photo of a cute little baby deer. I told her she could show anything she wanted from that day, and this turned out to be one of those things. I think she did a very good job with her post, but there was only one problem.
Anyway, back to this little deer. We didn't actually see it at Carpenter, where we went that day. We were on the way home, when I remembered a road that lead into the other side of the forest that was behind my house. I actually never went in there before, so I asked her if she'd like to go sight seeing before we finished our trip.
We drove up the road and discovered that there was a quiet little neighborhood up there. It was like being in the country right inside the city. The people that were there weren't like country folk at all though. People from the country are mostly friendly, but these people just stared at us with suspicion in their eyes.
Today we had more snow and cold weather, so I didn't get to go anywhere. I really wouldn't have a big problem hiking in a snowstorm, but I have no way to get to any of the nature parks. The problem is driving on the snow filled roads. It gets kind of treacherous.
Oh, but I'm neglecting to tell you about my two pictures of the day. These photos look almost identical, but there are a few differences. The one at the top was from my last visit to Carpenter. They are both shots of my new fancy bridge playground. At the end of it is the fishing platform.
I finally did it! I finally brought you the post I've been promising you over the last few days. Yesterday in my Danger Signs post, I showed you these white and orange posts in the ice. Someone had ignored the danger and walked across. I hid from you what the danger was here.
This dam was created in 1996. So that gives us a clue as to the age of this nature preserve. The lake and the dam are here to slow the river further down stream, and to beautify the area. This was another very pleasant surprise of Carpenter Lake Nature Preserve.
We had to walk over a small hill to get to the other side of the dam. As we got to the top, I realized that to get to the best view would be kind of perilous for both of us. We had to walk down the hill, and at the side of a very slippery looking slope, that led down to the river that the dam emptied into.
We made it as far as we safely could without the risk of falling becoming too great. As a result, I got several great pictures of the dam. This one is the first of them. You can see here a good view of the whole dam. I have some other pictures that are spectacular. They're coming very soon. I just couldn't fit them in this story today.
Yesterday I showed you my new play area, and today I'm going to show you why it is there. I know I promised to shake your soul with today's post. So I'm a liar. I can't help it. Maybe if you keep reading you might shake a little bit. Probably with anger at my deception.
I took this photo while I was looking directly across the lake. You can see a house in the very back. Across the lake is a suburban neighborhood. The road that goes down the other side of those houses is a busy one. I've traveled that road many times.
Here is what it looks like upriver from this little viewing area that I'm standing on. That's the direction I came from. Where I am now is about halfway to the back of the nature preserve. I do seem to remember driving over a bridge when I came here, but it was only a small river back there.
This last photo is downstream from my viewing area, and there is something very interesting in that direction. That's what I was actually talking about when I said I'd steal, uh, shake your soul and stir your imagination. I meant to show it to you today, but I remembered that I wanted to show this to you first.
I'm back today to talk about my journey through Carpenter Lake Nature Preserve with the famous Alice. I have to keep going from place to place this week, because I've seen so many strange and interesting things. I also know that some of you don't want this latest journey with Alice to get lost to time.
We found something at Carpenter that isn't exactly a bridge, but I think it is one of the greatest structures in a nature park that I have seen so far. This place is a series of stairs and docks that you can go down and view the lake from. Yes, there is a lake here!
There is! They are bridges, escalators, glass elevators, and especially places like the one in these pictures! This place was made for fun in mind. It brings back the mentality of a child in me. I actually laughed out loud with delight when I saw it. Alice understood completely, and we rushed down to the place just so we could walk along our new playground.