Then I realized - being in a rut isn't always bad.

I woke up this morning in a rut. Big, heavy questions started to roll around my head as soon as my eyes opened. So I went for a run. It was the first snow of the season. the air was crisp and cold. The kind of cold that bites. The kind that creeps under clothes and chills the core. It was clear Old Man winter was coming out of his rut.

I returned home, hoping I had run off my rut. No luck. So I turned to my trusted friend to help me realize that life isn't so complicated, that all things can be looked at in a different light and become not only non-stressful, but funny. Stephen Colbert. Watching the Colbert Report goes a long way in improving my mood. I flipped on Hulu and watched. It helped. So did the coffee. I was almost out of the woods.

Having used up all my tricks I was on the brink of returning to my rut when I had an unexplainable thought to step out onto the deck to get some fresh air. It was still morning. It was still cold and still snowing. Not heavy, the flakes floated in the air before hitting the ground. Like artificial snow on a hollywood movie set the white flakes seemed light enough to dance with each other before gathering on the ground.

I walked out on the deck and was greeted by the big eyes of whitetail doe staring up at me. I stood motionless. Standing still I stared back. It was completely quiet. The kind of quiet that almost has a sound. The kind of quiet that is a noise the way only mother nature can make no sound be a sound.

I watched as the doe turned away, not seeing me as a threat she took her time fading away under the snow covered pine branches. Something made me stay. I stood there enjoying the moment when nothing seems to really matter except appreciating life for all that it is and all that it isn't.

A moment later a four point whitetail buck stepped out from under the trees. He paid no attention to me. I knew he was on a mission. I then smiled, knowing he was also in a rut. And it was then that I realized not all ruts are bad. I walked back in the house wishing I could give him a fist bump. After all, he just helped me get out of my rut.

This photo is dedicated to my friends Tom and Mike, both of whom I know would have rather been seeing this guy between crosshairs than worrying about aperture.