Stoic deer

It didn't seem too bothered by this jackdaw taking fur off its back.

This morning I had a tidy up and then this afternoon I made the most of the sunny weather. I stopped by Wandle Park where they have dug up the grass and restored it to its Victorian layout with the river running through it. Then I went via a slightly convoluted route to Bushy Park. I'm not sure I've ever been there before, despite having been taken to Hampton Court a number of times as a kid. It was busy with a lot of families around. I enjoyed watching the birds on the ponds and the artificial river. Then I spotted the deer and spent quite a lot of time watching them. They seemed pretty calm although some people were feeding them which meant one of the young fallow stags was following the people around and going very close to them trying to get more food. The people were a bit disconcerted by the stag coming so close. I don't think it's a good idea to hand feed wild animals. There were some people behind me remarking that it's not a good idea to feed any wild animals, not even birds. I disagree when it comes to leaving seeds in a feeder for garden birds but otherwise I think they're probably right.

Then somebody let their dog off its lead and it disturbed the peace, running through the deer and chasing some of them a really long way across the park. I got a photo and a video (YouTube). I did laugh though when a passer by immediately shouted "Fenton!" Eventually the owners did apprehend the dog but they didn't seem to have much of a sense of urgency about it which is sad as it was causing a lot of distress to the poor deer.

I made my way back home and stopped off at a supermarket to get some cereal and milk. Inevitably I bought a bunch of other things too. As I came out of the supermarket I saw somebody who looked like my ex. It was my ex. We did the awkward "I haven't seen you in ages... we should meet up... we should get back in touch" like we lived in separate cities or countries or something, not a couple of miles apart. We both knew that we probably wouldn't meet up and that it's for the best. We've both moved on with our lives and it would just be awkward.