Deer encounter in my village

Island Stories #47: soothing your souls with a brief moment of nature

I didn't plan to write today, I reserve my Thursdays for other work, but some of you reminded me that many readers love to start their day with a bit of nature.

For instance, a reader who just took a paid subscription to The Planet wrote to me:

"I subscribed because I look forward to some refreshing and positive and nature content in the mornings. The world seems like such a mess". And she added: "Nature is better for the soul."

Another reader wrote today on Twitter: 

"It is a balm to my weary soul."

Yesterday, another reader wrote in a reaction to the video of my morning bike ride to the beach that I am:

"truly blessed to live in surroundings filled with so much of Nature's eye-catching beauty. The serenity soothes my soul".

After reading these and more comments, I changed my no-post on Thursday policy for today and decided to 'balm and south your souls' with a bit of nature. This 40-second video shows a deer that had just crossed the road where I was cycling, and I saw her jumping into a field you may remember from other pictures. The land had been in agricultural use until 2017 but was then given back to nature. 

The deer stopped at a safe distance, took some time to check if it could trust me, and then focused on her dinner for the evening. That's all; it is not a prize-winning compilation of best captures. It is just a moment where my life and that of the deer briefly came together; we looked each other in the eyes before we both went on with our own business. 

I wish you all a beautiful day. Be kind to someone, walk your 7000 steps, eat enough fruit and vegetables, try a vegetarian dish, take a moment to enjoy nature, and hug your pet.

And please do support this newsletter if you are in a position to do so and haven’t done so yet (and stay and read for free if you can't; I believe that those who can pay should give support and thereby make it possible for me to write and for all of you to read this newsletter).

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