Photo Courtesy of Photo Bucket
Last night my husband and I saw a deer cross right in front of our path on our way home from dinner. I slowed down and traveled slow, thinking that another one would follow. Luckily, no more deer came dashing out and we made it home safely.
I try to stay off the rural highways during deer hunting season which is now taking place in Minnesota. The gunshots scare the deer and it seems like more deer get killed and end up dead on the highways from being spooked than from being hunted down. I already got my deer, and I don’t want to get another one.
The day I got my deer, my weapon was our car. My daughter and I were coming home from the school carnival. I was driving the speed limit of 40 mph down the dark familiar road to our home during the month of April, 1999. A deer dashed in front of our path. I knew that if there was one deer, there would be another. I looked in my rearview mirror, and the car behind us was very close. I knew if I slammed on the brakes or even slowed down a bit, we would get rear ended. Then, sure enough, the other deer that I had been expecting came running out in front of us, and I smacked into it, and she went flying over to the right side of the road. We kept on going about a half mile when we got to a stop light. The car that had been following us, pulled up in the right lane while we waited for the light to change. I heard the passengers talking very excitedly, and they were looking at the front of our car. I thought, “If you wouldn’t have been riding my bumper, I could have slowed down and that deer would still be alive.”
I continued driving home, and when Laura and I got out of the car, we looked at the front end of our Buick Century. The only thing that was dented was the license plate. I never had good aim, and thought we were really lucky. I thanked the angels for watching out for us.
My daughter and I were pretty shook up. My husband called the police to let them know there was a dead deer on the side of the road. That night I didn’t sleep very well, and the next morning I drove by the spot, and my deer was still lying there. It looked like some critters had found her too.
One of our friends, a real deer hunter, mentioned that we should have called him right after it happened, and the deer would not have gone to waste. I didn’t even think about doing that at the time. At least some little critters got fed.
There are a lot of deer and other wild animals running around our neighborhood even though we live in an urban area. I hope and pray I never run into a wild animal again. It’s no wonder deer like to live so close to people. Chances are it’s safer here for them, especially during deer hunting season. That is, if they don’t get hit by a car.
My Reality Show 