A Deer Between Two Fears

Smokey Valley Lake in Carter Cave Park, Olive Hill KY

On our way home from Carter Caves in Kentucky, my Honey and I both had moments of fear. Each of us had a moment that the other took care of. My date did not know I protected her from one of her fears and she did not know that she took care of one of mine. In between these rescues we had our favorite fawn sighting.

I kept her from seeing a snake—before going home we stopped to kayak and swim in Smokey Valley Lake. It’s a little 45 acre lake in Carter Cave Park. Just as I was about to help my Honey in the kayak, I spotted a water snake. He was dashing about in a decent sized puddle beside the lake. After her reaction to the falling branch I shared in Happy Hiccups With My Honey, I didn’t think it prudent to let her actually see a snake. So I suggested she get in from the other side of the kayak (with her back to the snake). I kept my eye on the varmint while she took the front seat, shoved off from shore and climbed in my seat behind her…melt down avoided.

Then we found a fawn—We got a rare moment as we were exploring the lake. One of us spotted what looked like a deer in the grass about a football field away. We stopped talking and my Dear put down her oar. I quietly turned the kayak without a splash and inched toward the fawn. For about 20 minutes we crept closer and enjoyed this unusual site. About two yards up on the shore in tall grass we could finally see two ears and a dear little deer face. It was a fawn nestled down where he thought no one could see him. He was out of sight unless you were in a boat. The fawn stayed still until we got within 15 feet of the shore. I guess he finally decided that orange thing out in the water (our two seater kayak named Sunny Delight) might be sneaking up on him. He jumped up and ran for safety.

And wore life jackets like diapers—There is something about being out in deep lake water that just gives me the creeps…don’t know why. I didn’t want her to see me struggle and I sure didn’t want to miss time swimming together…so I just jumped in and pretended I wasn’t concerned. What was so cool was that she taught me a trick from her many summers on the lake in Kansas when she was a child. If you flip your life jacket upside down and put your legs through the arm holes you can sit in it. Do this at your own risk, of course, since life jackets are not made to wear like a diaper—but I loved it. We bobbed around in the water and talked for a hour or so. Then we did our best version of a seal flopping up on an iceberg to get out of deep water back in the Kayak.