A fawn

On Tuesday I was removing the plastic panels on the end of our big green house and was stacking them around back when I looked down and to my surprise was this little fawn curled up next to the bottom board on the green house. I could have stepped right on it. The little thing looked just like a pile of leaves.

The family and our friend Kristine were all out working in the garden so I called them over to see the baby. It seemed very unusual that it didn't get up and run away so we were beginning to think something was wrong with it.

We were all gathering around speculating about the fawn. Were was it's mother? And why wasn't she around? Then our daughters started asking if we could keep it, then started citing instances were people raised abandoned fawns. But, I was not easily won over to the idea and held my ground, "no we aren't keeping it!" I insisted. " The mother must be around here someplace". I've heard of many instances were people think fawns are abandoned when in fact the mothers are not that far off.

We were all standing around chatting about the cute little thing. Ryann was bent down taking pictures. Kristine mentioned about how it was not skittish at all with us all standing there gathered around just a couple feet from it. Then no sooner did those words leave her lips when the fawn let out an ear piercing shriek jumped up and ran off on wobbly legs. Obviously being just hours old. We all jumped at the sudden sound and movement. As it went off Shalea spotted the mother which had been no more than 60 or 70 feet away in a thick growth of balsam trees. The mother went towards the baby and that was the last we saw of them.

I was amazed that I had carried those panels right past the fawn and hadn't even seen it at first. Pretty neat how they blend right in to their surroundings. We were all relieved that the fawn was not an orphan and that the mother was fine and would take care of it.

It's funny how baby animals make a person forget about what a nuisance the adults can be. The mother may very well be one of the deer who helped mow down part of our garden last year. And this little cutey may well do the same later on. Oh, well by Gods grace it all works out in the end anyway.