Greeting Many-Legged Friends

So I've heard these rumors that Staten Island has deer. I haven't been able to put much faith in them. Though we are the greenest of the boroughs, no patch of woods is particularly large or far from a major road. It seems like there should be far more road kills and related traffic jams if they are indeed here. Even in DC, we had deer in Rock Creek Park, which involved confirmed sightings (ok, one actually stood at my front door, preventing me from entering on my way home from work) and traffic accidents. So imagine my surprise when I looked up the block and spotted this graceful creature. As we got closer, it became clear that Penny would have a unique opportunity to personally greet the deer, so I let her out of her stroller. She had fun saying, "Hi" to the deer, but got a bit bored when it didn't respond or move. Apparently, the straps on her stroller were more entertaining.
I'm really pretty proud of how observant and friendly Penny is. When on a walk, she often stops to greet or watch a passing insect. She gets a little too excited occasionally. Trying to pat a beetle on the back for an impressive takeoff and landing can be quite hazardous to the beetle's health. A happy dance around an ant, I'm sure instills a certain degree of terror for the multi-legged friend. So as many times as I introduce her to new friends, I have to play the role of bodyguard to ensure the encounter goes well for both parties. I can't wait until she can call them by name. She knows the names of several letters and is getting better about repeating words we say to her. It's fun stuff and I'm looking forward to more windows into her thought processes.