Stories from an Empty Classroom

Journal 3

Nature walks aren't really my thing, I hate the prospect of bugs, arachnids and small creatures lunging themselves at my face. (I also hate the sun so that could be another reason.) But once in a while, I'll come across a sight that is so beautiful I can't pass up the opportunity. You see, I'm a photographer/photoedditer (according to Mr Stevenson) and taking photos of amazing things is a hobby of mine (also drawing them but I'm not really that good at it, so I'll stick to Photoshop) and ever since taking the class, I can't walk past a decent trail, with autumn leaves falling onto my face, without pausing in remorse of my rush to be someplace else.

This specific trail, the one with the autumn leaves, captured my attention last fall when I was exploring my grandparent's property. They both have bad knees/bad backs/bad cleaning habits, so they rarely use the trail anymore. My grandfather had asked me to take his larger dog, Tea (who is an absolute sweetheart), on a walk. She is well behaved and doesn't get enough exercise/time outside, so I agreed.

We were walking by the edge of the forest in the backyard when I spotted (Tea spotted) a deer stealing tomatoes from my grandmother plants. They have a habit of doing this and usually, I'd let them if the deer was only taking a couple. But NO! This deer was taking more than his fair share of tomatoes and he knew it (I could see the look on his face, trying to be sneaky). So, I cautiously moved towards him, hand firmly clasped around the dog's leash, to politely ask that he stop taking my tomatoes. He heard me ask, I'm sure, but he didn't listen. Instead, he took one more tomato and took off running. Tea, while normally well behaved, is very excitable and thought that the deer was playing a game. So, she ran after him! Dragging me along with her! I couldn't let go or else she'd get lost, and I couldn't stop her because 1) she was having fun, I didn't have the heart, and 2) My noodle arms couldn't do anything against this 60/65-pound dog!

Eventually, we lost the tomato thieving deer, and we stopped in the middle of this nice trail. Listen, Atlanta suburbs are beautiful in the fall and winter, the trees and weather play their roles nicely during the respective seasons, so you can understand why I had brought my camera along. It was one of the first decent, spontaneous pictures I had ever taken. It hangs on my wall alongside a picture of Tea, and the tomato stealing deer.

Disclaimer: Very little of this is real. Yes, my grandparents have a dog named Tea, a forest in the backyard, and a garden patch of tomato plants. Yes, the deer like to steal them, and I do usually leave them alone. However, I have never been allowed to walk Tea alone on their property since I was maybe 10 when she gave me rope burn while tearing off after a squirrel. My Aunt actually stopped Tea from running off that day so she did not run after the tomato stealing deer save for maybe 5 seconds. Another thing, I did not (this is really important guys, take care of your equipment) bring a 200-dollar camera out while walking a 60-pound animal. I am not stupid and that is a stupid thing to do. I do have noodle arms and I knew the dangers. If I saw anything interesting I'd come back later and hope it was still there.