Afternoon Visitor

This afternoon, while Son was cutting firewood and Husband was watching him, I decided to take a spin on the all terrain vehicle! I was told to make sure I run it at least once a week to keep the carb from "gumming up". It isn't like I mind driving about in the woods, though!

I was going along, when I noticed that Husband had moved a large haywagon type of trailer up into the woods. I drove over by it and nearly "lost it". I have been pretty stoic as far as breaking down and feeling sorry for Husband...He sustained a spinal cord injury twelve years ago and he was not doing anything out of the ordinary when it happened. He was thirty-eight at the time, and had great plans.....

Amongst those grand plans, he had built a small sawmill with a neighbor. It is basically just a large metal frame where one mounts a chainsaw with a ridiculously large bar and chain into a device that can pass along the frame, cutting planks of wood. Husband was always of the mindset that if he had to cut down a tree for firewood, if there was any wood that might be useful for furniture, he would mill it, then use the rest for firewood.

When I passed by the large wagon, the mill, now rusted from neglect, sent me into a vision of times gone by. Almost immediately, tears began to sting my eyes, then fall. I sat only for a minute, then moved on, wiping the tears away and hoping I would not run into the guys.

Just a short distance up the path, I looked up and saw her watching me. I gently leaned over and turned the machine off, but I could see she was getting antsy as I reached for my little Canon camera. A terrible photo, but as we stopped and looked at one another, something seemed to pass between us....she was not fearful of me, and just seeing this beautiful animal stopped the tears. How can one cry when viewing such a beautiful creature?

I talked to her for a couple of minutes. She stood erect, looking straight at me. Then a branch fell in a tree several feet away, and she was gone....I was so thankful for the treat of seeing the doe and that I was pulled from the self-pity that had welled up earlier!