The Buck Stopped Here

Albert Einstein said to look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.

The deeper I look, the more I learn then I understand less and I crave learning more. Does that make any sense? The more I read and educate myself – it opens up a whole new world of questions.

Just a couple of facts I learned today. Did you know the average wingspan of a bald eagle also known as the American eagle is seven foot? I just know that on the rare occasion that I see an eagle, that can soar up to 10,000 feet in the heavens, that I am mesmerized by its beauty. 

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 Did you even know that an eagle remains faithful to its mate until death (25 – 40 years) or they can lift as much as four pounds or that they can reach speeds of up to 200 mph when diving?

As a child I remember utilizing my World Book Encyclopedia which lined the bookshelves of most homes in the 1960’s and 1970’s to do research. Our children and grandchild are so fortunate to have answers to their multitudes of questions available with a few clicks on the keyboard of their own personal “world beyond any imagination” laptop.

I have a thirst for knowledge about the beauty of the world that I am fortunate to live in. Another beauty of nature that always inspires me is seeing a deer. Though I’m not sure about the origin of this attraction. I get excited every time I see a deer in open field as I drive down the road. My heart doesn’t go pitter pat, nor do I point and say “look quick” when I spot the bushy ringed tail of a raccoon waddling through the grass on a Sunday afternoon drive.

It is always a bittersweet feeling when I gaze out my back window and the deer have jumped the fence into our yard. This sight usually creates a debate within my head. The pro side, of course, is the beauty of this creature of God. The con side would be our vegetation that is devoured by this majestic creature.

On Sunday, November 13, 2010 when I glanced out my window as I was getting ready for church there were no mixed emotions, just the feeling of being awestruck as I saw a big, beautiful buck standing by our white pine in the back yard. I couldn’t race down the stairs fast enough (thankful that the days of shoes, trucks and dolls left on the steps was a thing of the past) to grab my camera.

Mr. Buck graciously allowed me to click many photographs of him as he lay under the pine tree for almost forty five minutes. I snapped away as he stood up and then effortlessly jumped the fence to the yard behind us. I was thankful for my choice of being late to church and taking the photographs.

With my camera close at hand for evidence of my tardiness, I gladly shared the photos with anyone that would take a moment to glance at them. I remember at one point zooming in on one of the photos to get a closer look. Remember, I am electronically challenged so using the zoom button was a great accomplishment for me.

My fellow photo gazer and I were shocked and saddened by what we saw. We could see blood stains on the chest of this majestic creature. Upon closer examination we could even see a puncture wound.

The mixed emotions came back, this time out of concern for the animal, I reassured myself that he was moving around and jumped the fence at least twice.

Until last night, I hadn’t thought much about the buck in our yard (besides an occasional glance at my Facebook photo album) when I had a conversation with my neighbor in the yard behind us.

After discussing what he had planted in his garden, the moles and their runs through our respective yards and the deer eating our vegetation, I shared with him the story of Mr. Buck in our yard. The back yard neighbor whose name has fled my mind, perked up a bit and moved closer to the fence as I mentioned this particular deer.

He said, let me tell you this, now you say this was last fall when you saw the buck, right? One Sunday morning my wife and I had slept in late. She was up first and grabbed me out of bed to tell me there was a buck in our back yard, just lying there. He went on to say that once he went out to check on it, he discovered it was dead in their yard.

My heart saddened. I hoped it was not the same Sunday morning, the same buck, the same puncture wound which I was hopeful was old and healing. The circumstances tell me it was. I am having difficulty erasing thoughts of that beautiful majestic animal that appeared to be so full of life in our yard to just jump the fence and lie down and die in the neighbor’s back yard.

I was told of a bow hunt down the road from our home. I was also told a deer can usually run 100 yards after being shot in the chest. This beautiful creature of God made it two miles, so we could enjoy the beauty of its majesty one last time.