Synchronistic Moments

We had a fawn born near our house two nights ago by one of the does who frequents the roses that come through the trellis and the shelter that she knows she finds here with nobody chasing her away. Because of deer is why I have fences in the yard. I liked being able to look out at the flowers and see only space behind them and tried everything else first; but in the end, peaceful coexistence came because of fencing what I wanted to see bloom and turning my head the other way when everything else is nibbled on. (The one that mystifies me the most is why sword ferns that I have replanted from forests nearby are more tasty than the ones still in the forest. Is it forbidden fruit?)

The fawn is gorgeous with all the spots, long spindly legs and a little shaky but it's up and following mama. No photos because by the time I get the camera, they are heading on past and I don't want to disturb mama from thinking this is a safe haven. Beyond is not so safe for her with the coyotes and cougars and if she panics, running across the nearby highway wouldn't be safe either; so I admire her from a distance but don't move fast when I see her.

Yesterday afternoon I heard the loud scream of like a wounded rabbit, maybe a strange bird. As I ran out of the house, I thought it possible a lamb or cat was being strangled or had been attacked by something.

Down the driveway, there was the black cat staring intently toward the orchard and beyond him were the doe and her newborn. I stopped as I watched the newborn run to the doe and begin to nurse. No camera, of course, but it was a special moment for me to be that close, to have the doe see me and yet not be afraid to nurse her baby. I backed off and left them alone and hope they headed back into the thicket down toward the creek.

I am not sure what caused the panic from the fawn but am pretty sure it was the fawn who screamed. It must have felt very threatened, and I have wondered if it had suddenly come upon the black cat-- who was still looking, until he saw me, like he was considering whether the fawn was fair game.

The photos here are of two Red-breasted Sapsuckers who have been favoring our trees out front. I am not a bird expert but one looks more mature than the other. Since I would assume the female would be more brown like other woodpeckers, (but don't know and if anyone else does, I'd love to hear) my feeling is this might be a parent and less mature sapsucker.

When I looked through my books for exactly what the bird was, I learned that the holes the sapsucker makes-- which I've seen on those trees, but never known why, help hummingbirds when they travel north each spring before sometimes sufficient flowers are out for their sustenance. The hummers can use those holes to get sap to keep them going. More of the synchronicity of nature.