The Young Life

A deer in the backyard always creates excitement in my house but make it a young deer, or, better yet, a really young deer and you get a bit more joy mixed in with the excitement.

There is something extra special about seeing a young animal. Maybe younger animals are just cuter, like those of our own species, or maybe they instill in us something deeper, perhaps a renewed sense of hope for the world. Nah, let’s go with young animals are just plain cuter. My kids fawned (pun intended) over a young deer, apparently abandoned by momma, as it confusedly made its’ way around our yard.

We were pretty sure momma deer was close by since my wife had seen it earlier in the day and though baby deer lingered for about an hour it eventually made its’ way out of our yard. My children watched as the fawn shuffled back and forth through the yard testing the fence for a way to escape. As it meandered about my kids and I made our way from window to window, room to room, trying to keep a visual on the deer. My children were concerned for it as in, would its’ mother return, would it be okay all alone and how did it get here in the first place. Quite an easy teachable moment.

If you have read any of my previous posts you may know that I tend to teach my own children about nature using the Socratic method which involves lots of questions, which leads to more questions and more questions. It’s great. Rarely do I have any answers but that doesn’t matter one bit. Where was the momma deer? Why did she leave her young in the first place? Are there predators for a young deer to be wary of? Was baby still drinking mommas’ milk? I asked all of these and listened as my children answered.

None of my questions were answered that day but I enjoyed watching and listening to my children wonder about their natural world.