I took a walk around the lake today, and while I was sitting on the tumbled down boardwalk down one of the side paths, a buck came picking his way out across the stream about ten yards away. He definitely knew I was there, and kept eyeing me suspiciously, but I practiced my not-breathing, and he didn’t bolt. (I had to wait until he turned around to nip his shoulder to scratch my nose, though.) He wandered around in the water for a good minute or two. He kept flicking his tail and dropping his head–I assume flies were bothering him, but it’s hard to say.

It was sort of surprising to see one out at mid-afternoon on a warm day, but very cool.

In other news, my hair is now a merlot color, with auburn bangs, deeply unnatural but a lot of fun. I haven’t felt this punk since I dyed a purple strip in my hair at age fourteen. (The bottle promised that it would be out in three washings. I graduated from high school with the remains still there.)

I am nearly ready for Anthrocon, or else I have simply ground to a halt from pure exhaustion. It’s pretty much the same thing.