Would You Believe It ....

Whilst our move to West Barns, near Dunbar some seven years ago was intended to be a move close to the sea, I did not really regard it as living in the country. However, this image taken this morning through my study window puts the lie to that. I was letting out Baxter, our small podenco dog, prior to his morning walk when I saw him sniff the air and rush over the rail round the decking and stand up on his hind legs to get a better view. I looked across the small paddock that lies behind our house to the river bank and saw what all his excitement was about, there was a young deer there.

We’ve had one or two sightings over the past couple of years but I‘ve never been able to grab a shot. Fortunately Baxter was all of a quiver but not barking and surprisingly the deer stood its ground. I shot into the house and quickly assembled a 400mm equivalent lens set up on my camera and managed to grab half a dozen shots. As I was shooting hand-held at 1/200th second I was lucky to get a couple of sharp shots. The deer must have come quite a way as the nearest quiet stretch woodland is a couple of miles away, though I know they do graze in John Muir Country Park woods overnight when the public are not about and they are only a mile away.

We also have occasional foxes as visitors but they don’t necessarily count as ‘country’ creatures as we used to see them when we lived in Bruntsfield in Edinburgh. I know folk see deer frequently in some of the London parks but this sighting confirms for me that we now live in a rural setting as well as ten minutes from the sea.