Woodland surprises

It seems we've become a wildlife sanctuary or adoption service for newborn fawns.

I was surprised this morning to look outside and see Hannah had returned.

She was lying in the tall, unmowed grass, beneath a tall oak tree.

I accept responsibility for the unkempt backyard. Too much wet weather, a week of suffering with a bad back, and frankly, too many other things to do,  have all kept me from it. I don't worry about such trivial matters; I know it will be there when I'm ready. Now, Hannah gives me another excuse for not getting to it. I certainly don't want to disturb her. I was positively joyous to see her again, just hangin' out in a place that she, and apparently her mother, consider to be safe.

So, just when I was feeling pretty good about the accepting wildlife around here, I glanced out the front window. I saw something moving in what was once a flower bed. I haven't gotten around to that either this year.

Ironically, it was the deer population that ate all my flowers, raccoons, squirrels, and armadillos to name a few, that dug out tulip bulbs and a myriad other plants, that have changed this into just a bunch of overgrown unidentified plants.

When I first saw something moving, I thought it might be our cat, Timi. She likes to hang out in the Russian Sage plants. It makes her smell nice. But then I saw those unmistakable ears. I had to get a little closer. It was another fawn, just lying in the weeds, chillin'.

I'd seen a baby romping with her mother within the last couple days. I wondered if we had one or two little ones around. Now I know.

So the backyard fawn is Hannah. The front yard fawn is Dawn fawn. As I crept a little closer to her, she bolted. Dawn fawn will not allow petting. I doubt Hannah would either anymore. They have probably both been instructed by prospective Mom Deer to stay away from the crazy stalker lady with the camera. I'm sure she tells them to just pose and be cute, but don't let her touch you again!

That's OK, I've had my thrill as noted in a previous account of getting to pet Hannah. I'm happy now, but have no idea if I will ever be able to have flowers again. Time will tell.

I'm a little bit country, and more so every day

I admit, it isn't always easy to adapt to being a country girl, but it is so worth it.

Yesterday, I was thrilled to watch a doe with her newborn fawn scampering around in the backyard. In fact, I shot a video to mark the momentous event.

I watched until the fawn lay down at the base of an old cedar tree, right in the backyard. I could see it from most of the windows of the house, and certainly from the deck.

She looked to be sleeping quietly as her mother went off into the woods. I named her Hannah.

This morning, I went to check to see if Hannah was still there. She was. I knew how young she was, so I was worried that she was no longer alive. Upon closer inspection, I realized that she was breathing.

Since I know nothing about newborn fawns whose mother is nowhere to be seen. I watched her mother give a glance over her shoulder as she bounded into the brush. That was the last I saw of her.

Not knowing what to do, I sought out advice from the Internet. I learned that what I was seeing was not uncommon. Often times mothers will leave their fawns for as many as 12 hours while they eat and sleep. I feel good knowing the doe entrusted her baby to the crazy lady on the deck with a camera. If she is the doe I suspect she is, she knows I am harmless. She has seen me aim my viewfinder her way many times.

As noted, I checked to see if Hannah had a scab over her umbilical cord. She did. I didn't need that to tell me she was a newborn however. It was pretty obvious that she was brand new to this beautiful world in which we live. I lifted her tail--no problem there. She had no puncture wounds and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

As I was performing my cursory examination, I took the opportunity to faun a little over this adorable fawn, petting her soft coat and touching the many spots on this beautiful, perfect, little creature. I didn't think once about how annoyed I get when the deer in the neighborhood decimate my vegetable garden and eat all my flowers. Instead I was mesmerized by the sheer wonder of this tiny critter.

Just as we were starting to bond, our resident mama cat, Timi happened by. Hannah must have been startled because she got up on those long, skinny, and unsteady legs In a blink of an eye, they not only held her upright, but she almost gracefully leaped away. She entered the woods at about the last place I saw her mother. Perhaps she is going back to her birth location. I hope so. I just hope her mother finds her and nurtures her. She deserves no less.

I hate not knowing what will become of her. No doubt I will be a nervous wreck until I see her romping around with her mother once more, as it should be.