dog days of spring

Our yard is so full of life right now. At any given time, we can sit outside and find unending entertainment and beautiful, amazing things to observe. In a single day last week we saw brand new baby deer while drinking our coffee, and then a huge black bear while we ate our lunch. It’s not every day a black bear walks through our yard!

We often joke how we could go out camping in the deepest wilderness and hardly see a single wild animal, but right here at home? Oh my. Do we even dare camp in the yard? We do sometimes, and it’s usually interesting.

Here a few photos from the past week.

Tiniest fawn, just days old.

Bumblebees and thyme flowers.

Daily confrontations between crows and vultures. It’s pretty clear that vultures aren’t welcome around here right now, while crows are raising their young.

The little fawns have been tucking in near our place during the day, while mom goes out to forage. This one chose a spot so nearby. We truly feel humbled to have gained this level of trust with the mother deer over the years we’ve been here.

Reunited in the early evening and ready to nurse again.

By then, they’re also ready to explore and run around after laying down for many hours. They are so bouncy and quite fast. I’m refraining from gushing here, but they are seriously so adorable. We have hundreds of photos to prove our adoration.

Chestnut backed chickadee.

So many hummingbirds!

And maybe the sweetest beast of all, helping me with some gardening while I’m busy working in the studio.

What’s happening in your part of the world right now? Anything stand out? This year is like no other in some ways – early flowers, early warmth, extra dry. It feels both frantic and laid back – like a mix of spring time energy and the dog days of summer. It’s hard to explain exactly, but it’s different than I’m used to.