{"id":17285,"date":"2017-04-30T22:13:47","date_gmt":"2017-05-01T02:13:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iaintjustmusic.bobleafe.com\/?p=17285"},"modified":"2022-10-17T16:40:47","modified_gmt":"2022-10-17T20:40:47","slug":"2022-i-shot-me-some-deer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iaintjustmusic.bobleafe.com\/?p=17285","title":{"rendered":"2022 – I Shot Me Some Deer!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026..<\/span>(ignore April 30, 2017 publish date – this was published on October 15, 2022)<\/p>\n

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(click to enlarge)<\/p>\n

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I live in Hackensack, New Jersey – a city that is the Bergen County seat. I live 3 blocks from the Hackensack River.<\/span><\/p>\n

As you may know from previous posts, I enjoy walking on the Hackensack River Walkway. What you may not know is that there\u2019s a Walkway \/Greenway on the other side of the river in Teaneck. I usually only go on it when the leaves are off the trees because the foliage is just too thick to see the river or my neighborhood.<\/span><\/p>\n

For some reason, I decided to visit the Teaneck Hackensack River Greenway\u00a0 – still in full foliage – on October 12. I didn\u2019t expect to see anything of interest.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the Greenway\u2019s barely-open, semi-nondescript entrance, located just a few feet into Teaneck:<\/span><\/p>\n

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Ho-hum – looks pretty boring\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.until it wasn\u2019t. <\/span><\/p>\n

(I should first mention that this entrance is located at the end of the most commercial street in Teaneck – a more-than-a-mile stretch that begins with a hospital and ends with a university and has everything else in between, from a movie theater to gas stations, pharmacies, restaurants and a hundred other stores. <\/span><\/p>\n

It’s also 2-3 blocks from the two most commercial streets in Hackensack. Hundreds of cars passed by this entrance in both directions while I was there.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Once inside, I was maybe 200\u2019 past this entrance when I saw something large with a big rear end – and possibly a tail – burst out of the bushes a hundred feet ahead on the left (non-river) side, scamper away for a few feet and then re-enter the foliage.<\/span><\/p>\n

Was that what I thought it was?<\/span><\/p>\n

I proceeded slowly, trying not to step on anything made of wood that would make a loud snap – which was almost impossible. I scanned the thick brush for any signs of movement\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.<\/span><\/p>\n

Suddenly:<\/span><\/p>\n

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And then:<\/span><\/p>\n

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Buck, doe!<\/span><\/p>\n

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Were there more? I continued on the Greenway path. Fortunately, there was no one else around\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026..I had the entire path to myself. I scoured every inch of its left side.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nothing.<\/span><\/p>\n

I started back, REALLY taking my time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then I saw something in the distance. I didn\u2019t have a rifle, but I DID have a Canon with a great zoom.<\/span><\/p>\n

Young buck!<\/span><\/p>\n

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Suddenly, there were THREE of them!<\/span><\/p>\n

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The buck on the left seems to have a malformed antler pointing downward.<\/span><\/p>\n

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They were aware of me, but I never moved, so they didn\u2019t either. When they momentarily turned away, I moved a couple of feet closer.<\/span><\/p>\n

I was also trying to film little videos that I could stitch together later. The problem was that at that magnification, the tiniest movement on my part made everything jump wildly (what I would have given at that point for a tripod!).<\/span><\/p>\n

It was necessary to do some narration at just above whisper-level, but every time I said anything, a buck that was at a considerable distance away would immediately raise his head in my direction.<\/span><\/p>\n

When this one did it, the result was almost like a two-bodied, one-headed animal:<\/span><\/p>\n

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Finally, they started to melt back into the brush, but they couldn\u2019t go too far from the Greenway because of a property fence, so they traveled parallel to the Greenway and close to the fence.<\/span><\/p>\n

I caught an occasional glimpse, but they were difficult shots:<\/span><\/p>\n

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Luckily, this doe-eyed honey paused to say goodbye:<\/span><\/p>\n

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This is the 7 or 8 little videos stitched together from various stages of this encounter. Initially, I thought there were only 2 deer, then a third popped up. At one point, I thought that they may have totaled 5, but their exit at the end seems to show only 4:<\/span><\/p>\n