A Magical Brush with Nature

So, yesterday I flew home from Maine and drove into Boulder, after many hassles and delays, and with sore shoulders and a grumpy disposition about my vacation coming to an end. I lugged my suitcase down the path to my yard and left it just inside the gate, unlocked the door, and got Fenway a fresh bowl of water. I started trying to get organized to go into the office, and thought I'd better bring my suitcase in before I forgot. I went to the door and started to open it, but was stopped in my tracks by the sight of a large object in my yard. It looked like...a DEER! But in the split second before I could really process what I was seeing, I remembered that my landlord had said that they were planning to "fix up" the yard while I was gone, and I thought to myself "holy shit, they put a DEER STATUE in my yard!" And then I realized, duh, it was moving, and it was a real deer! It looked like a young buck. I grabbed my camera and tried to take some pictures through the glass, but they came out all blurry, so I very carefully squeezed through the door, trying to keep Fenway inside and not startle the deer. I crept out onto the patio and got some photos - it was SO close! It was just kind of hanging out, ambling around the lawn. Then Fenway and some other neighborhood dogs started barking and the deer looked nervous, but it didn't seem to be interested in jumping over the fence. Then I thought, "maybe this deer is injured and CAN'T jump over the fence! maybe it's been here all week!" but then it suddenly just gathered its legs up underneath its body and gracefully lept right over the fence! It was amazing.