Monday, January 23, 2012

A Death on the Ranch


Early yesterday morning as I drove out the ranch gate onto the highway I say a deer sitting in the culvert along the roadway, oblivious to my presence. I got out to look and could see that she had been hit by a car and was in shock. She wasn't mangled, as deer often are when struck by a vehicle, but she was certainly in a bad way. She looked right through me as if I wasn't even there. My first instinct was to put her out of her misery. But her eyes showed no sense of panic, pain, or sorrow, only a vacant gaze as if her spirit had already left the body. And besides, she was one of two deer born on our ranch last winter. And having fattened herself on hay left over from our own animals I was feeling a measure of paternal instinct that made the act of putting her down that much harder. But after an hour or so her body yielded to it's fate and she passed to whatever lies beyond.

Today, when the rain lets up, I will load the her body onto the tractor, move her to a more secluded and dignified spot on the ranch, and let nature take its course. I'm always wary of attracting predators, but the coyotes have to eat, and they too have a place in the cycle of life around here. So I'll offer a psalm to the deer spirits of Carpenter Canyon, and hope the yearling's twin pays me a visit sometime soon. There's leftover hay on the ground and you're welcome to it.

2 comments:

  1. Awww...sad. We came upon a small deer (fawn?) a while back, lying in the road stunned but still breathing. We picked her up, brought her home and kept her warm until a wildlife rescue person picked her up and restored her to good health. I too was shocked that she wasn't killed instantly, not even any broken bones that we could tell.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sometimes it's an unexpected miracle we glimpse, and sometimes an ending, but all creatures take their places in the cycle. I am glad you gave the deer the dignity of a more secluded spot and honored her with these beautiful words. Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete