Gratitude 133: Variety of Wildlife That Enjoys Our Yard

Yes, deer are a nuisance, especially if one has spent time and money to plant veggies and herbs (and flowers) but they are beautiful animals none the less. A couple of days ago (on a rare occasion when I did not have my camera handy) a doe and two spotted fawn (twins!) ambled through our yard. To date we have had a large variety of birds, squirrels, chipmunks, cat and deer visit this place. Last night Richard saw what he thinks is a possum scamper up our driveway. And of course, there are the ubiquitous rabbits who have a burrow somewhere along the back of the property. The animals don’t bother me. In fact I get immense pleasure watching their antics. Of course my gardening is relegated to pots on the deck (actually, pots lined up on the cover of the old, broken down jacuzzi that will be towed away by the end of the summer . . . I hope.) At any rate, I caught this deer last night as the sun was low in the western sky. Beautiful creature. I am grateful for the variety of wildlife that enjoys our yard.

Related articles

• Deer makes its home in Lake View backyard (suntimes.com)
• Rare white deer spotted in London, Ont. (lfpress.com)
• Pair of rare white deer sighted (lfpress.com)
• Daisy The Deer (romancingthebee.com)
• LePage signs bills to rebuild deer herd (bangordailynews.com)
• Appreciation (naplesgirlblog.com)

Gratitude 17: Butterflies

Butterflies flitting through summer blooms have always mesmerized me.  I can spend hours watching them as the flutter about totally oblivious to the passing of time.  If one ponders the metamorphosis from the plain, even ugly, caterpillar into a creature of delicate and colorful beauty, the butterfly becomes even more amazing.  Butterflies are the perfect metaphor for life.  We are tooling through our days without much concern when suddenly we hit a bump–or even a crater!–and then we are forced into a cocoon of sorrow, pain, suffering, doubt, whatever the case may be, only to emerge having metamorphosed into a butterfly ourselves.  Romantic vision? Yes. But romance is not all bad.  In this case the butterfly is a symbol of hope, renewed life, delicate as it may be.  I’ve been through a few of those experiences in my lifetime, and only when I have emerged as a butterfly am I able to appreciate the journey that got me here.  I am grateful for butterflies!