After an excellent night hiking beneath a blue moon, dream-rich sleep came quickly and persisted well after sunrise. Giving way to an aging bladder's insistence, faint detection of motion outside from a quick, passing glance through upstairs bathroom window brought me back to it for a longer look. A few moments later they grazed into view at very relaxed pace.
Always welcome here, I stayed quiet so the small herd of bucks could graze in deserved peaceful silence. Press of wildlife is reassuring confirmation that not all is lost, yet. Even apex predators bear, bobcat, raptor and mountain lion have every priority right to access this space. It's still theirs. And as SARS-CoV-2 continues its relentless press into a grand new, frantically over-reproducing, obscenely over-consuming host population of 7.8+ billion warm-blooded fools intently, arrogantly discounting its powerful threat, these quiet feeders are oblivious of humanity's self-inflicted plight. I sincerely hope their silent sanctuary can last.
