The Guilty Party

Well, that was convenient.

I had decided not to post any more videos from my beginner camera because once they are uploaded here they are so small it's hard to see what's happening in them. And if I use the zoom feature when taking the video, the texture gets grainy.

But (whiny tone) I really, really wanted to share videos without spending a boatload of money on new equipment, which I have no intention of doing.

Then I caught a deer chomping on our rhododendron bush today.

(The same rhododendron bush which hasn't had a bloom on it for years, because the deer eat the leaves and buds off every winter. Rhodies are evergreens that keep their leaves for the winter and set buds for early spring blossoming. They are to deer what cheese-and-cracker packs are to kids (and me) - two compatible foodstuffs conveniently packaged in one container.)

The bush is quite near our house, so it was easy to get a very close-up video without using too much close-up button on the camera. I won't be able to tell until this post goes live if this is an improvement on previous videos, but I hope it is. If not, I'll have to decide if I'm game to use Youtube for my videos instead. (Using my one brain cell for learning new technology - ewww!)

Goodbye rhododendron. I'm sorry, but the deer have to eat something. And our town just passed a bylaw forbidding residents to set out food for wildlife ........ but they never said anything about growing snacks for them .....

If you have the sound turned on, you may hear one of our cats purring, and near the end the clock is chiming ... just so you don't worry that you're hearing things, if you hear things.

Here is another video, even closer:

I don't think this is one of "our" three deer that often visit. While driving through our neighbourhood, I have occasionally seen a single deer making the rounds. The one in the video here has stockier legs and a somewhat shorter face. And he was all alone for over an hour in our back yard, first eating, then settling down for a rest, then eating again. You can see one of "our" deer up close in that post I linked to just above. Our three always travel together; as I've mentioned, I think it's a mama and her two spring babies. Perhaps "our" deer includes a fourth now.

A photo for those who don't like to click on videos:

He looks a bit like a donkey. Hmm. Purely coincidence, I assure you.

Update on my last post ... the sun came out less than twenty-four hours after I posted, and it helped lift my mood, thankfully. I'm taken aback to be so affected by the gray skies after spending my whole life not minding them. Thank you to everyone for your kind comments and helpful suggestions. It must be a very hard thing to deal with depression on an ongoing basis. I've had a glimpse, a mere blink, relatively speaking, and I feel more than ever for all those who struggle.