More Deer

Tonight I was walking Frances and as we headed up a little hill there were two does grazing in a little vacant lot by their woods.  They were still there on our way back to the house so I took Frances home, got my camera and went back. The does hadn't moved and were just enjoying their evening.

I decided to round the corner and take photos of the road where I see the deer so often.  This is the place that I think looks so magical.  The canopy of trees makes it look like something out of a fairytale.  It's a tad bit scary, just me in these woods. I can hear sounds of animals all around me but I don't always see what's making the noises.

Look at this pretty little spot.  There's a bit of a trail through there.

Tonight, I walked down the road singing quietly a song I grew up listening to.  It's called "Man Walks Among Us" by Marty Robbins.  My father is a huge fan of Marty Robbins and his music is like a soundtrack for my childhood. Quite often, there was Marty Robbins' music playing on the record player at our house.

In this song Marty Robbins sings:
"Everything hides, but I see them
I've spotted an old mother quail
I look close and see, looking right back at me
The eyes of a young cottontail
I see a coyote sneaking
As he crawls through the brush on the hill
And the eagle screams down, "Stay close to the ground
Man walks among us, be still, be still
Man walks among us, be still."

I love that song, and I think about it every time I'm out in places where wild animals are and I try very hard to respect the fact that I'm in their home.

As I was coming back down the road, I spotted the two does again but this time they were in the woods.  I took two photos. Can you see one of them in there?

And this one is peeking at me.  They didn't want to take their eyes off of me.  When they were grazing in the little clearing one of them was a little more relaxed and put her head down to graze. The other was not so trusting.  So, I said "Okay girls, I won't take anymore pictures.  I'll leave now." 

I rounded the bend to the main road and there before me was a third doe! Surprise, surprise.  I turned my camera back on and shot this photo.

Then I crossed the road, as she just stood there watching me, and took another.

I walked a little farther and took another.
Then I got right up beside her...with the road between us...and took one more.
Look how nice her coat looks!  Right after this one she was done trusting me and jumped into the woods.

When I'm walking down that road, I also think about the book "The Yearling" by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.  I can't read it all the way through.  It's too sad.  But, I love the illustrations by N.C. Wyeth.  They're so beautiful.

I would love to live in a little cottage in the woods and have those wild animals all around me. But in my version, everything has a happy ending!

And then, I think about the part in the book where Jody's friend, Fodder-Wing dies, and Penny gives the eulogy and I wonder if little Fodder-Wing's heaven is like this with the deer and other little animals all around.  I hope it is.

“Oh Lord. Almighty God. Hit ain’t for us ignorant mortals to say what’s right and what’s wrong. Was ary one of us to be a-doin’ of it, we’d not of brung this pore boy into the world a cripple, and his mind teched. We’d of brung him in straight and tall like his brothers, fitten to live and work and do. But in a way o’ speakin’, Lord, you done made it up to him. You give him a way with the wild creeturs. You give him a sort o’ wisdom, made him knowin’ and gentle. The birds come to him, and the varmints moved free about him, and like as not he could o’ takened a she wild-cat right in his pore twisted hands.

“Now you’ve done seed fit to take him where bein’ crookedy in mind or limb don’t matter. But Lord, hit pleasures us to think now you’ve done straightened out them legs and that pore bent back and them hands. Hit pleasures us to think on him, movin’ around as easy as ary one. And Lord, give him a few red-birds and mebbe a squirrel and a ‘coon and a ‘possum to keep him comp’ny, like he had here. All of us is somehow lonesome, and we know he’ll not be lonesome, do he have them leetle wild things around him, if it ain’t askin’ too much to put a few varmints in Heaven. Thy will be done. Amen.”

Fodder-Wing had a way with animals.  I hope these little deer, that I see almost every evening, can sense that I mean them no harm. That I just love to watch them and experience them.  I think they do.

Comments

[Diane Diekman]

What great illustrations you choose to express yourself! I'm particularly impressed that you know "Man Walks Among Us." It isn't one of Marty's popular songs. I'm writing the biography of Marty Robbins and I thank you for keeping his memory and music alive.

[Jen Biggs]

It's so pretty there, Donna! That's so cool that you can get so close to the deer. Scott grew up listening to Marty Robbins on family roadtrips so we have a few favorites, but I've never heard that song before, though. Very nice!

[donnapiranha]

Diane, I feel honored that you took the time to leave a comment on my blog! It's nice to know there are other Marty Robbins fans out there. He was taken from this world far too soon.

Jen, that's cool that Scott grew up listening to Marty Robbins. I would have never guessed! Now he feels even more like a little brother to me. :-)

[Lynette van Barrelo]

Those photos are gorgeous, DOnna! I would love to take the kids there for a photo shoot.

I used to gaze at illustrations too. I'd ponder for hours over 'Where the Where the Wild Things Are' and a few others but the titles just escape me now.

What a great post!

[Barbie]

You are the best writer in the whole world! I love your blog! Except the sad parts.

[donnapiranha]

I'm sorry...I thought about how I would make you sad if I put the eulogy in there. But I just love it. It makes me cry, but I love it.