Hmm, long blog (for me, in any case).

I sneezed with violence, my shoulders convulsing. A puff of white dust sidestepped from my arm and caught a ride on the breeze as it passed through the window. Somehow, sanding sheet rock isn't on my list of favorites. It makes my hair go grey, on my head and down my arms. It highlights the creases at the corners of my eyes and makes unwanted pilgrimages up my nasal passages.

"Phew," I muttered as I shuffled down the stairs to the front door. With a twist of the wrist, I swung it open, leaving a white hand print behind for posterity. Our daily friend the sun was bright in my eyes. I raised my hand, making my own personal shadow across my face. Once my eyes finally adjusted to the brightness, I took a look about the wide open lawn. Nice trees about the edge, pretty pond across the way, lovely horses in a pasture just over there. Hmm, nice... yes.

I started to take a long, deep breath in appreciation for the dustless air, but it turned into another violent sneeze. I guess I must have had a halo of that beastly dust hanging about my head. "Oh hum," I coughed as I trudged towards my sister's car. From it, I was thinking of grabbing my paint brush to use later after the sanding was done. But my progress was suddenly halted when from around the back of the car stepped... a fawn! I stopped. It stopped. We gazed at each other with a measure of curiosity.

It was about hip high, a fawn just out of its spots. Dark limpid eyes, pools of innocent water under the limbs of bowing trees. Large, white lined ears, wide set, ever moving to catch each sound. I could go on with the description, but then I'd bore you all. Onward I go...

It stepped towards me, right into my personal space. And do you know what it did? It commenced sniffing me like a dog. Small snuffly noises, soft touches with its moist nose on my hands which I had held out towards it, palms upward. Slowly, I slid my hand down its neck and across its narrow back. Have you ever seen a deer up close? They are a work of slender elegance. Which means, for a fawn, extreme sticklike-ness. All impossibly thin legs and neck and, and, and. I think you get the point.

This fawn allowed me to run my hands down its legs and to scratch behind its radar-like ears. I moved over to the car and reaching through the open window, picked up an open bag of Cheetos. Yum. The fawn's nose moved into overdrive. Then, it did something that totally caught me off guard. It jumped up and placed it hooves on me in an attempt to reach the source of the delectable smell. I then experienced another new thing. Fawn hooves are practically razor sharp. Yikes! I fended it off and moved towards the door... I suppose I should really get back to work.... *sigh*. All good things must come to an end, as they say. I pushed the door open and moved inward, but the silly little beast attempted to follow. Grr... "Back, back!" I said. It was a pathetic attempt to sound stern, but who can yell at such a sweeeeeet little deer? So I did the next best thing. I pushed it away and closed the door in its face.

Trudge, trudge, up the stairs. Back to work, hey ho.