Once in a Lifetime

Last week's rains were all but forgotten yesterday, with the air fresh and clear, the sky the color of a robin's egg, and a palette of greens overspreading the landscape. I found it impossible to stay indoors, so I called my friend, DiAnn, and we arranged to go for a walk near her home. Her neighborhood is quiet, with scattered houses and scant traffic, which, today, was a good thing.

DiAnn had just told me about her neighbors who feed the deer every day, when a rustling sound from the side of the road caught my attention. A tiny newborn fawn was there, moving slowly toward us on wobbly legs. I bent down and extended my hand, as I would for a dog, and the thin little creature came haltingly and sniffed my fingers. I think the fawn was too young for fear to guide its actions. Apparently, I wasn't the one it was looking for, because it moved slowly on into the road. 

Neither DiAnn nor I had a camera with us, so she volunteered to run home for the cameras (hers at her house and mine in my car) while I kept track of the fawn. I watched as it crossed the road and entered the woods. It made its way a few yards into the woods and laid down beside a small log.

Some might surmise that the fawn was lost, but it is natural for a doe to leave a newborn while she browses. Most often, the fawn will stay in place until the doe returns. Newborns have no scent, which gives them a certain protection against predators. 

DiAnn returned in her golf cart with our cameras, and I made my way, as quietly as I could over the dry leaves, to the place I had last seen the fawn. Sure enough, it was resting there, tucked into a ball, waiting for its Mother.

Any contact with a wild creature is amazing, but being so close to this small, vulnerable newborn melted our hearts. This may, quite likely, have been a once-in-a-lifetime encounter. For all three of us.

Maybe God gives us moments like this as gifts to remind us of His love and His care for all of creation. But in this place we call home, wonders are not limited to the once-in-a-lifetime variety. At various times of the year, we can see the Milky Way spilling across the sky, or watch snow pile into a white blanket. We can listen to a Mockingbird imitating the music around it, taste fresh clear water, touch a Wooly caterpillar, or smell the scent of wild spearmint, activated by our footsteps. 

And so, from this place in the universe, for one tiny fawn, and for everyday wonders, I lift my heart in thanks.

In His hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.

Job 10:12

For another fawn story, click here.

Linking with Saturday's Critters

Lost and Found

We had a bit of a scare at our house last evening.  At dinnertime, when I let Barley out the front door, a Black Snake slithered in.  I screamed bloody murder, and Don came running.  He trapped the snake with his boot while I went after the loppers; then I retreated, shaken, to the kitchen as he dispatched the snake.  It was a mature Black Snake, not huge, but a good 2 feet long.

The calamity averted, we looked for Barley.  Since coming to us last December, except when we've taken him places, he's never been out of sight of the house.  He spends most of his time in the house with us, but sometimes we call him our driveway dog, because when we walk in the woods, he always runs home ahead of us, as if drawn to the house with a large magnet, and waits in the driveway.  But last night, we didn't see him anywhere.  Nor did he respond to our calling.  Alarmed, Don noticed that the deer were still grazing on the north side of the house, so we knew he hadn't gone that way.  Don got the pickup, and I joined him, and we headed for the road.  At the highway, we saw where Barley had dropped his favorite stick.  We thought he could be headed for Don's brother's place, a mile away, but Barley is not savvy about cars, and anything could happen.  Across the highway and up the hill on the county road opposite ours, we found him, 1/4 mile from home, looking lost and lonely at the side of the road.  With great relief, I got out of the truck and wrapped him in my arms, then he willingly jumped in the back seat, and rode with us back home.  Once there, he sniffed the front door with great interest, then settled back into his routine, seemingly as relieved to be back home as we were to have him.

We trembled when we thought of the other possible outcomes for Barley.  But it's comforting to know that the God who watches over us doesn't confine His interest to people, He sees every bird that falls, He cares about every creature He has made, and He certainly cares about Barley.

In His hand is the life of every creature,

and the breath of every human being.

Job 12:10