Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Oh me oh my I think I'm high

Yesterday afternoon I took the dogs for our walk, the same route as the day before when I saw the doe for a few seconds. I took my camera along,  laughing at myself in this Disneyesque mode, expecting the deer to understand that I wanted to see them at this o'clock so they'd best show up. On the other hand, I've walked in a lot of woods nearing sunset and that is a good time to see deer. Sometimes magic happens and I wanted to be ready.

The dogs plowed on.


But then, like a shift in the air, there was an alert difference in them. They were looking up and ahead, seeing something I could not.I followed their signals and there, up on a curve in the road, was this beautiful buck. He just stood there, long enough for me to turn on the camera, pray it didn't jam on zoom and get off a couple of shots.



We stared at each other, no doubt with very different sensations, my being in awe, him being in potential danger.Then he hightailed it (and now we know where that saying comes from) down into the safety of the bush.



I was left laughing and thanking the dogs, the deer, the universe.

I've loved this poem for a long time. Adjusted for a Caribbean setting or right in your own world, it is very true for far more than deer.

How to See Deer
 
by Philip Booth

Forget roadside crossings.
Go nowhere with guns.
Go elsewhere your own way,

lonely and wanting. Or
stay and be early:
next to deep woods

inhabit old orchards.
All clearings promise.
Sunrise is good,

and fog before sun.
Expect nothing always;
find your luck slowly.

Wait out the windfall.
Take your good time
to learn to read ferns;

make like a turtle:
downhill toward slow water.
Instructed by heron,

drink the pure silence.
Be compassed by wind.
If you quiver like aspen

trust your quick nature:
let your ear teach you
which way to listen.

You've come to assume
protective color; now
colors reform to

new shapes in your eye.
You've learned by now
to wait without waiting;

as if it were dusk
look into light falling:
in deep relief

things even out. Be
careless of nothing. See
what you see.
 
Right after seeing Mr. Buck, this view of St. Thomas was around the corner.


 Sometimes, I think the universe gets a bit of a grin, letting us have our way. If you heard a low mirthful chuckle late yesterday afternoon on Culebra, now you know why.

8 comments:

  1. you lucky, lucky girl....it's it incredible the rush and high you get from those experiences?? The awe is just overwhelming....

    thanks for sharing your magic moment.

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  2. I am lucky! and thank the deer, it's ridiculous and oh so lovely, how long he waited for me.

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  3. I think the deer waited because of a poem he'd heard about MJ. Just sayin'...

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  4. Great moment! thanks for sharing

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  5. The magic was there. Here it is deer season. Sigh. No majestic heads held high, just the shots ringing out during the day. I dont begrudge the meat someone needs on their table and I hope they don't begrudge my cheers when the deer leaps away. A wonderful poem, MJ. And on that note. If you do celebrate Thanksgiving, have a wonderful day.

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  6. You be careful there! I do celebrate Thanksgiving and thank you, yes, it is always a wonderful day! Please do the same, despite the madness, there is much to be thankful for.

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  7. Save the high res, the St Thomas one is a classic

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