a doe and twin fawns

a doe and twin fawns

watching our gray tabby cat

watching the three deer

  

A doe and her twin fawns, grazing on the greening grass in our front yard, perk up their ears when our gray tabby cat jumps up on the low bamboo fence. The deer start toward the cat, the twins curious, the doe a little alarmed, stamping her front foot. Pepper, frightened, jumps down and slinks up the path toward the cars. The deer follow until he disappears under the truck. Then they turn back towards the woods, the twins kicking up their heels and bounding around each other. I go for a walk. When I return, the deer are back in the yard, a stone’s throw from the cars. They watch me, stock still, as I quietly ease open the door of the truck, slide in and quietly close the door. Pepper, meanwhile, must have snuck back to the house. When he hears the truck door, he comes running up the path. Deer and cat see each other at the same moment, deer ears up, cat tail down. Once again, the deer stalk the cat, who hurries back to the safety of the house. Even when I start the engine, pull out of the driveway and crunch down the gravel road, the deer completely ignore the truck, totally engrossed in the appearance and disappearance of one terrified gray cat.