Deer Diary – Roe, Red and Fallow

I am Adam Stafford, a 31 year old who lives in Worthing, West Sussex. Deer Diary has been created to give you an insight into what I get up to outside of my work life. This blog consists of a diary inspired by my love of deer and other wildlife that I have found whilst stalking deer on my doorstep in Worthing; wildlife that exists in everyones back yard that only appears when you look hard enough.

From a young age I have been interested in animals and birds, from being a member of the YOC (originally launched in 1965) to hiding in the back garden with my best mate trying to trap an imaginary mouse with a slice of cheese and an empty shoe box.

As with most things you like when you are younger I grew out of this immediate fascination when I started school but always maintained a love for animals; from rescuing hedgehogs and handing them into the vets to waking up in the morning with a screaming hangover accompanied by a massive seagull flying around my bedroom that I had picked up, walking home from a particularly heavy night out!

Over the past year I have been reintroduced to the pleasures given from seeing creatures that only appear when you look hard and long enough. Finding animals that you don’t expect to see in this urban jungle. There were so many sensations that I experienced when I saw my first deer in the local woods; shock, excitement, gratitude, surprised to find such a beautiful animal that normally remains a secret of the countryside. Once I knew it was possible to find deer 10 mins drive from my house I got the bug – it is like fishing; you have to wait before you’re rewarded, you know the fish are in that pond but there is no guarantee that you will catch one, sometimes you won’t catch anything all day, which makes it all the better when you eventually do!

This ‘hobby’ allows me to finish a busy days work on a positive note. I am a Director of several companies including Fresh Egg (the main company for the past 8 years) and I need a way in which to unwind on an evening. There is nothing more satisfying, peaceful and relaxing than going out to the woods after work and completely forgetting about everything… Some people have a glass of wine – I have Harry the Roe Deer Stag!

I got myself a camera a few months back after being inspired by watching Johnny Kingdom on BBC2. Johnny is an amazing character who lives in Exmoor who spends his life filming Red Deer in the surrounding countryside. I wanted to record my experiences as he has and I have managed to surprise myself with some of the results I have got.

I hope you enjoy sharing the experiences I have collected over recent months and continue to follow this blog for updates of my adventures in my urban jungle.

Above: Me!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 at 9:31 pm and is filed under About Me. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.