Deer crossing

With the traffic congestion we experience here in Malta, I always remember my driving days in New York, and especially in Eastern Oregon. There I had to drive around 110 miles every weekend to celebrate an extra Mass for 30 parishioners. With my camera in my passenger seat, I was always on the lookout for deer, elk, wild turkeys, chipmunks, bald eagles and all kinds of wildlife. The problem of traffic was non-existent, but what I lacked from bumper-to-bumper traffic, I encountered in deer crossing the roads, unexpectedly. This was especially dangerous in the mating season, between October and November when the male deer (buck) are chasing the female, and they don’t care if there’s a car or a truck coming by – if they see the female deer (doe) they’re going after her no matter what. Drivers are always on the alert when this happens, and as I keep an eye of the mating scenario, I am ready with my camera, slowing down and shooting the encounter. This one particular deer crossed the road just before I reached the little hamlet of  Richland, a few miles before I arrived at my mission church in Halfway. He was oblivious of the green Honda CR-V with the priest in it, but was concerned about the rendezvous he was looking for, with Mrs. Doe.