Living in Nature

For the last half hour we've been watching four blacktail bucks about twenty feet outside the dining room window. There were two with two points per side, one with four, and one with five. They sparred a bit, but for the most part the elder deer seemed dismissive of the younger two. At one point, the two big ones locked antlers for several minutes. They didn't seem to be fighting so much as scratching mutual itches. Periodically they would graze or lie down in the grass. They were completely unafraid of us watching them, even when we stepped out through the door for a better view.

There were jokes an innuendos about bucks outside Yaney's door (must be pheremones) and the exchange between young bucks and older ones. Michael, who's lived with Yaney for two decades, is twenty-six years older than Yaney and I are. We may lock antlers occasionally, but there's no anger to our sparring either.

Being part of a threesome is a relatively minor challenge of this transition. In fact, it's kind of fun to watch friends grapple with the concept that Yaney lives happily with both Michael and I. Polyamorous relationships are relatively common in Corvallis, but still unusual enough to raise an eyebrow or two.

I'm not yet completely moved into Yaney's house. My drumset is up in the basement, a big improvement over being folded up in my small room at Veggie House. Today we'll continue the process of cleaning out some of their accumulations and moving in more of mine. The psycho-spiritual adjustments seem to flow well because we're guided by love.