Rain has been the order of the day today. Last night we probably got almost 2 inches of rain. This morning when it finally stopped Ed and I both headed outside to try to get something done outdoors. Just before lunch time, heavy rain forced us back inside. After lunch the sun came out and we went back out and were standing in the stone square discussing the possible identity of a small plant. For some reason I no longer remember I walked toward the corner where the foxglove and sweet cicely are planted. In a flash something that I thought was huge exploded out of the foxglove and streaked along the wall.
It went out the opening in the wall, ran into a cage, bounced off and ran for the woods. It was not until it reached the bed outside the square that I realized what had made my heart skip a beat. A small fawn had been hiding in the bed the entire time we had been talking there. I can only imagine how scared and shaken he must have been. He stayed still and quiet like his mother had taught him until his terror became too strong and he bolted.
Later after he was gone I went back to see where he had been hiding. Except for some small flattened plants and a broken piece of lady's mantle I would never have known he had been there.
In the bed outside of the wall, marks in the mud show where he lost his balance with one very deep footprint. Consider how small that purslane plant in the upper right of the picture is. It is ludicrous that I thought he was so big when he startled me. I hope our encounter left the fawn unhurt. We have coyotes in the neighborhood and I don't like the idea that I scared the pretty little thing to death!
