This Season's Thrill

This will be my last blog post for awhile. I will be taking a summer vacation, maybe posting a few readings every so often. I will be leaving you with "this season's thrill" of the less than three day old newborn fawn I got to photograph.

About 15 minutes from us in Cook's Forest there is the Double Diamond Deer Ranch. It houses three generations of deer, a museum of mounted taxidermy called "Buck Barn," a gift shop and some play areas for children.. You can walk around their fields and enjoy seeing deer up close and personal.

What's that lying in the tall grass? What every photographer hopes to come upon in his look for fawn. The first time I walked around the corral, I didn't see them. But the second time I found them.

Up close and personal I found Parker and Peggy Ann resting after some nursing.

I had visited that morning, but the fawn had just finished nursing and were down for rest and a good snooze. When I came back later that afternoon, I found them in the tall grass together relaxing.

The owner took pity on me and picked the fawn up so I could meet them and photograph them.

This has to be my favorite snap. Peggy Ann giving kisses to Mommy. You can see her pink tongue.

Looks like a good time to nurse.

I watched them for an hour and so enjoyed watching them around Momma and sometimes going off together.

The Buck Barn was loaded with exhibits. Bear, Caribou, moose, many small animals and lots of deer.

And these were some of the deer in the field.

They're posing. Must have heard something.

But, of course, my eyes were only for those two baby fawn. I got to pet both of them and see them up close and personal.

 This will be a thrill I will never forget. I hope you enjoyed seeing these two cuties.

Tummy time!

Yesterday morning I was out early and found some "wild" fawn. This is always a thrill too!

Enjoy your summer. Until next time . . . God's blessings to you.

Routine and Refresh

Was out and about Tuesday morning and saw doe and fawn three different times. Only got to snap one doe and fawn. A long way off in a field. Isn't great, but I can see it! So tiny. I'll keep trucking!

"The routine of life is like wrestling with a grizzly bear. You don't give up when you're tired. You give up when the grizzly bear is tired." Unknown

Yes, life can get very routine. Same old same old. Day after day. And it gets very tiring.

Thomas Kinkade said, "If I want my life to resemble a harmonious sunrise scene . . . I need to decide which activities are meaningful and important to me and invest the most significant aspects of my time and energy in these. I'm not talking about my work and responsibilities here. Just as important to my balanced life are adequate rest, healthful nutrition, regular exercise, and leisure activities that refresh and renew me." "Lightpost for Living"

In the routine of our day, there must be time to refresh ourselves. Routine can get very boring. And yet, routine is what most of us live with. A structured life is a productive life. Or so I've found.

But Carol gets very dull if I don't allow myself some time to refresh. Just a few minutes here and there to let my mind drift from the daily grind and consider other things. Like taking a walk outside with the girls and enjoying nature. Stopping to read a chapter or two in a good book. Calling a friend and chatting a few minutes. Writing a few lines to encourage another. Find my camera and look for a scene that refreshes my heart. Baking chocolate chip cookies. Find a fawn to snap!

What refreshes you? The sunrise? A bike ride? Sitting at an easel and drawing? Playing the piano? Washing clothes? Playing jacks with a child? Closing your eyes and listening to your favorite song? Talking to God?

Do you have a small room or alcove to go and be alone? Walking a city block among the crowd? Think?

Going after the cows. "I have never lost my childhood delight in going after the cows. I still slip from other things for the sake of the walk through the pastures, down along the creek and over the hill to the farthest corner where the cows are usually found. Many a time, instead of me finding the cows, on their journey home, un-urged, found me and took me home with them." Laura Ingalls Wilder

"Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop." Ovid (43b.c.-a.d. 17)

Yes, life can get very routine. Don't forget to take a few minutes and refresh yourself.

Double Diamond Deer Ranch have two fawn, born on Monday. I'll be headed there Wednesday morning to get my own snaps of the girl and boy. Love these snaps that they posted on their Facebook page!