Two Millbrook Deer, Loved by the Sun

There is a place not far from where I work where the magic lives. It is a marsh with huge trees and golden grasses, where the birds love to sing, and the morning sky show over Mount Nittany throws beautiful reflections on the clear, cool waters of the run.

When I am lucky enough, and early enough, I sometimes encounter additional denizens of this wild space in the middle of town. And that was the case on this day.

Between snow squalls, I took 15 minutes to see for myself the magic of the marsh. It is always a fine way to start a day. Just as I got out of my car, a lone jogger ran past, startling a huge hawk that lifted off from a big tree near the boardwalk. Whoosh! A rush of wings overhead!

I stepped onto the wooden boardwalk and looked to my right, where it opened up to a view of one of my favorite gnarly trees. I have stood in this exact spot many a time on a cold winter's morning, watching the golden frost mist rise like angels into the morning sun.

There, against the light, stood a large white-tailed deer. Of course, I tried to stay as still as possible, though I gather the deer there are rather used to people. I had to step this way and that to avoid sun glares in my photos. Carefully. Quietly.

And then I noticed a second pair of ears in the foreground, lower right! A much smaller deer was doing its best to nap in the golden grasses, in spite of my interruption. As I was taking pictures, we all sort of held our breath and looked at one another.

While I took quite a few pictures, I chose this one because I liked the way the light lovingly lit up the one side of each deer's face, like the touch of a hand: a golden caress for those fortunate enough to be loved by the morning sun.

The soundtrack is a song I love, from the film Legend, an underrated 1985 Ridley Scott effort. It features Tom Cruise and Mia Sara, and unicorns (!!), with Tim Curry in one of his very best roles, as the Lord of Darkness.

Perhaps my favorite comment on any of the videos I found for this song was this: "Don't pay attention to the bad reviews this movie got because this movie is AWESOME." Well said! From the film Legend, here is Tangerine Dream, with Loved by the Sun.