Ungulate

I was going to complain about how freaking cold it is (it was 55 yesterday, it was 37 degrees right now with "gusty winds leading to minor tree damage) but I just met deer. 

Besides, this was a wonderful opportunity to see how my coat will deal with Icelandic September weather, right? (Must add thermal underwear.)

Samuel and I went on a little walk and, going home, passed an entire family of deer right next to the path. A couple of them were frightened of us and a couple of them were absolutely comfortable with us walking right by, only feet away. I had a manual lens. The buck decided to walk directly to me while my fingers were on the focus ring. This is not cropped. My darling, beautiful Samuel, who has been so incredibly patient with this deer obsession, for years, finally had it. The deer came too close, maybe he was too tall and his antlers too scary, but Samuel actually barked at him when he crossed the line. I apologized to the deer. 

- Monarch butterflies are returning to California. 
- We have a new variant. 
- Our first US offshore wind farm has been approved. 
- International travel next year is expected to be insane (the new variant may change that).  
- 92% of federal workers have been vaccinated.
- At USAID, 97.8% of federal workers have been vaccinated.