Bambi and Thumper and Flower

It occurred to me as I went through the forest trails and caught the scent of skunk that my childhood Disney-like fantasy of being in the forest and having deer and mice and chipmunks and bunnies and squirrels and birds around me has come true.

Not the way I imagined. But great anyhow.

A doe gives birth in this area each spring. If I'm really lucky in early June, I can catch a glimpse of the fawn. A cottontail doe nests under the cedar trees at the bottom of our yard. They've produced bunnies every year there for the last 48. The local skunks have been seen to parade through my backyard sometimes with four youngsters trailing behind, sometimes digging for grubs. Bird feeders attract birds today that I didn't see 40 years ago. I see coyotes and foxes and owls now and then. I saw a mouse in the woods in the dark the other night. I have fed chipmunks out of my hand.

Bambi and Thumper and Flower are within arms reach. For a kid that was raised in a treeless subdivision, it's a dream come true.

One day I'll need to move away from the forest, but the magic will always be with me.

Spicy Autumn Scents

When I walk at this time of year through the woods certain scents rise. The forest is just full of feral apple trees; the fallen apples bring a scent of sweet apple. Other plants set off a faint hint of vanilla that stops me in my tracks when I catch a whiff. Trees like cedars smell faintly of spices like cinnamon.

It's no surprise that people lean into pumpkin pie type foods and spices. It's natural.