Having recently taken a trip to one of my favorite spots in the universe, the Smoky Mountains, I noticed an odd occurrence. People block the roadways and cause traffic jams to take pictures of white tail deer. My husband and I included.

Admittedly, deer look different in the mountains. I think it's the scale of the land. However, they are just like the ones we have right here in Putnam County, only cuter somehow. Still, it's not like seeing a bear in the wild.

That's the only way I can explain the car loads of people who stop in the middle of one lane roads and hold up miles of traffic to take pictures of deer in a field.

We did get a couple of really good shots of two dear nestling each other between a couple of trees. It only took seven stops along the loop in Cades Cove in the Smoky Mountain National Park. For those not in the know, Cades Cove is a historic area that has been preserved by the national parks system and features pioneer living and wildlife viewing. We go there maybe once a year. And, we always see deer. One year we did see a grey wolf and often we see wild turkeys. We have even seen an occasional coyote.

Now, just a few months ago, as we were leaving our house around 5 a.m. (we live in Greencastle proper) there was a full moon still up and soft mist rising. As we pulled out of our drive onto Melrose Avenue there was a white tailed doe strolling down the middle of the street. It was an amazing sight.

Not a week later we saw an opossum, skunk and gopher in our neighborhood. We've often seen dozens of wild turkeys and many a coyote right here in good old Putnam County. Yet, we drive over 500 miles and stop in the middle of the road to take a picture of a deer standing in a field. And, we're not the only ones who do this. Hundreds of others do the same thing.

It must the mountain air. Your brain slows down, your body starts to feel rested and you have time to marvel at the wonder of what we have in our own backyard, just set against the glorious background of the Great Smoky Mountains. I can't wait for our spring trip back. I haven't seen a bear in our neighborhood yet.