We moved to Nashville in September of 2005 from Jacksonville, Florida. Among the top priorities when we moved was to find a place for Murphy and me to walk like we had with the beach. Somewhere that let us commune with nature.
To my delight, Nashville is more than home to country music and honky tonks. Who knew there were a plethora of parks within the city? Ones with paths and trails galore.
The Percy Warner Parks system is the largest and has many hiking trails. It’s one of my favorites. But it’s a little bit of a drive from our house. Luckily, my second favorite is the Crockett and Concord Parks system, which is only a ten minute drive from the house.
I’m not sure which one Murph prefers. He loves trailblazing and never complains about going to Percy Warner, but he gets impatient with the ride. Crockett and Concord are closer –and there’s a creek. (He loves to romp in the water!)
Both parks have a lot of wildlife, like raccoons, squirrels, birds, and deer, and we delight in spotting any or all of the above. But Concord’s deer population has something Percy Warner’s doesn’t have: an albino doe.
I first heard about “the white deer” last spring. She made quite the impression on all who saw her. The trouble was, where were they seeing her? We knew the vicinity but had never been lucky enough to catch a glimpse.
It was only last month when I learned the secret of spotting her.
Like some other places in the country, Nashville’s enjoyed an unseasonably mild fall and winter. A couple weeks back, on a balmy Wednesday afternoon, I decided to quit work a little early and take Murph for a late-afternoon walk at Crockett park.
It was gorgeous out, comfortable walking weather, and we passed a number of other people enjoying the park too. One of them happened by at the same moment Murph decided to yank me across the grass after a squirrel. The man laughed and said his dog likes to do that too. Then he asked if I’d seen the white deer out that night.
“No, I’ve never seen it. You have?”
“Oh sure, almost every time I walk in the park at this time of day.”
“No way! Where do you see it?”
He told me it was on the other side, in Concord Park. (Crockett and Concord and separate parks, but they’re connected by a path linking them and making them one larger system.)
I was so delighted to know the secret. Normally Murph and I walked that other path. (Except I usually took him on weekend mornings or early afternoons.) I had just decided to switch things up and do Crockett for a change that day.
But the next day the weather was supposed to be more of the same, so I made up my mind we’d be taking another walk. This time with camera in tow.
Murph of course loved this. Two back-to-back park walks in the middle of the week? What had he done to score so big?
So off we set. We came upon the clearing where I’ve often seen deer in the past, just never the white one. No deer. Disappointed, we trekked on. A mile later we came to another clearing where another herd likes to hang. We saw them, three does and a couple bucks, but no white deer. I got a couple of shots them, Murph enjoyed watching them, but it was not what we’d set out to “capture.”
Dismayed, we turned around. As we came back to the other clearing, I spied movement through the trees. It was the other herd that lived in the park!
And low and behold, what was with them? Yes! The white deer!
Except, dusk was heavy upon us and my camera is just very basic. I snapped and snapped and hoped something would turn out halfway decent.
Alas, it was not meant to be. There just wasn’t enough light and the herd had been too far away.
Murph doesn’t mind. He knows that just leaves more opportunities for park walks, because he knows his mom won’t be satisfied until she gets a picture!