Across the street from our house is a fairly densely wooded 7-acre park. Every spring migrating birds swoop in for a month and the park is overrun with very dedicated birders who can be found arguing about whether a particular bird call is an indigo bunting or a scarlet tanager.
When the birds aren’t here the park is inhabited by fairly pedestrian animals – chipmunks, raccoons, and a rumored fox or two.
This spring, however, things began to change when our neighbor reported that her prized flowers were being eaten by something. At first we suspected teenage vandalism. That didn’t seem quite right, however. A large bird? A hungry raccoon? The discussion went on for days until our neighbor – a 70-something woman with a thick Boston accent – came running out of her backyard yelling, “Dee-ah!!! Dee-ah!!! There’s a damn deee-ah in my backyahd!!!”
We went back, looked, and marveled at the buck sitting calmly in Barbara’s backyahd.
He wasn’t a timid buck. As we approached we glanced at us while munching on some flower or another. We backed off.
After 10 minutes or so he got up, stretched, looked at us as if to say goodbye and jumped over Barbara’s fence and was gone.
How did the deer get to the park?
There are no rational explanations. There isn’t another park of any note – meaning larger than the kind of park that supports children’s playground equipment – for miles. Make that miles and miles and miles and miles.
No one can figure out how this deer suddenly appeared.
My theory is that he took the bus. One neighbor thinks he came in on roller skates.
It is a great, great mystery. Another example of something that God does/allows just so he can see us scratching our heads.
I’ll post a picture if we can get one.
posted August 19, 2007 at 4:01 pm
I live in the middle of a city. Right smack in the middle of a big urban center and about two blocks away is a small park. It’s about 2 blocks square and has baseball fields, playgrounds, and a big old water tower. One winter night several years ago our daughter was dropped off at home after an evening with friends. Her friend turned the corner and was between lights, when a deer literally ran into her car. Smashed the passenger side and proceeded to lick our little friend in the face. She ran back to our house and was pounding on the door – I’ve got deer blood all over me and he licked my face.” We called her parents and went to get her car. The deer was gone, the car was a mess and a cop was looking at the blood in the front seat and had called “backup”. Her father firmly believes that his daughter was the only person in our city to ever be attacked by a deer in the middle of the night. Also had a bit of trouble with insurance. They just sneak up on you I guess.
posted August 19, 2007 at 5:55 pm
Clearly, the deer got there by marxist secularism. You can tell your neighbor, back in Iowa it’s common to plant “deer corn,” four rows of corn from cheap seeds around the outside of a field, especially if one side faces a creek. The idea is the deer eat that corn and leave your crop. What your neighbor needs to do is extend the flowers 90 inches towards the park. Deer daisies.
posted August 19, 2007 at 7:29 pm
Doesn’t Deer Park have something to do with Buddhism? It’s been a while since I took comparative religions and I’m too lazy to go to Wikipedia.