The Blessing of the Deer - Jane Hirshfield

 

A house of a person
in age sometimes grows cluttered
with what is
too loved or too heavy to part with,
the heart may grow cluttered.
And still the house will be emptied,
and still the heart.

As the thoughts of a person
in age sometimes grow sparer,
like a great cleanness come into a room,
the soul may grow sparer;
one sparrow song carves it completely.
And still the room is full,
and still the heart.

Empty and filled,
like the curling half-light of morning,
in which everything is still possible...

Filled and empty,
like the curling half-light of evening,
in which everything now is finished...

Beloved, what can be, what was,
will be taken away from us.
I have disappointed.
I'm sorry.  I knew no better.

[.....]

This morning, out the window,
the deer stood like a blessing, then vanished.

Jane Hirshfield
Original title: "Standing Deer"

from The Lives of the Heart

~

Photo of Deer - Mystic Meandering

Whirlwind Trip...

We went on a whirlwind trip this past weekend to Ruidoso, New Mexico.  The photo is a “Dust Devil”  that we saw on the way.  Actually there were two of them combined in this one.  And there were several other smaller, less dramatic dust devils all in the same area.

We went to see my husband’s mother who turned 90.

  She recently entered a Care Center for Alzheimer's in a neighboring town.

I wanted to share these few snapshots that I took from the car window as we traveled.  Most of the 525 mile (9 hour) trip was through barren grass land and desert.   Like this…

Wind Turbines

(sorry the photo isn’t good, but they were really impressive)

And there was more desert

 And an endless road with buttes

And more buttes

This photo was taken from a scenic overlook near Carrizozo, NM.
  It is part of the Capitan Mountain Range that runs East and West.

Golf anyone?

There were herds and herds of deer in town.

There were clouds in our rear view mirror leaving New Mexico…

 Returning to our beautiful Colorado country…

Home Sweet Home – Good to be back :)

Oh Deer! Oh Deer!

Last night we were at my Mother’s and Sister’s for late dinner and a movie… I went prepared for the unexpected – meaning I took my camera hoping that we would see the herd of deer that have been showing up almost every night since last Summer. We have never been there to witness this beautiful spectacle showing up in the small backyard. They evidently stroll through this densely packed residential neighborhood looking for food – eating whatever is available – usually birdseed, if my sister has forgotten to bring the bird feeder in, or at times carrots or bread that have been left out for them. They enter the backyard through one side yard, and exit through the other.

Last night we were gifted with a visit by these skittish, gentle beings at about 7:10pm. They were only about 10 feet away. They have been known to also show up at all hours of the night in herds of 3-7.

I am sorry that the photos aren’t clearer. I took them through the sliding glass door that had the screen in it – with only the back flood light on. Plus they move their heads so quickly, and my little Kodak doesn’t have one of those rapid shutter functions. But I wanted to share this magical moment with you, so I sharpened them up as much as possible. There were only 3 in this herd; a mother and her 2 little ones, who managed to stay out of camera range. So these are photos of the mother. As they passed out of the back yard, around the side, I went out on the front porch to watch them pass by, talking to them gently as the two fawns stood behind the bare branches of a lilac bush watching me, while the mother continued on, briefly pausing and looking over her shoulder…

Huh?

Who me?!

You want what?

I'm all ears...

Really? Are you sure?

Could you repeat that...

Shocking...