Wildlife

Standoffs. I hate them. Usually we're never allowed near enough to get any good video in he first place. Plus, nine times out of ten these things resolve themselves without bloodshed and the person willingly gives up or isn't in the house to begin with. This morning I found myself on just such a scene.

It's very muggy out and dark. The suburban Cul-de-sac is dimly lit by house lights. I'm standing in the middle of the street about 100 yards from the closest cop as I was asked to stay back. A man was barriaced inside his house after shooting his wife in the foot during an argument and the police are waiting on SWAT to show up. I can't see anything because the road curves off around to the left and the house is on the end of Cul-de-sac. I have to shoot on Hyper-gain to see anything.

I can see the stars when I look up. It's a beautiful sight with no street light glow to obscure the view. It's also very quiet. No real insect noises tonight. Just calm and still tonight. If it wasn't for the police at the end of the street, one would never know anything was going on.

Almost as if on cue in this serene moment, a doe walks out from behind the house I am in front of. She's looking around and then slowly walks across the yard and down into the street. She stops and looks at me. She's about ten feet from me and looking at me. I'm perfectly still because I know any movement will spook her. She looks around and then starts to slowly walk towards me. She gets within three feet and then stops. Her nose was twitching as I guess she was getting my scent. I could see her dark eyes and her ears were on alert. She stood there for about a good minute just looking a me. Then she turned and walked across the rest of the street and into the yard on the opposite of the street.

I've had my share of run-ins with wildlife. I hit a deer recently with my news unit, heading back to work, after covering a fire near my house. I also had a run in with a skunk at a decrepit cemetary casuing me to scream like a girl and punch a hole in the air, when it brushed against my ankles.

This time though, it was a nice encounter with nature. The doe put a smile on my face. It made for a good night.