What is it about fawns that makes us smile? More than the image of Disney’s Bambi talking with Flower the skunk and Thumper the rabbit, we see fawns as a sign of new life. They are one of the few creatures we see as babies, so to speak; baby birds stay in their nests until ready to fly and bunnies stay in their warrens until old enough to come out.
There are now two fawns in my yard with their mother eating the corn and seeds laid out for them. (Yes, I know I’m not supposed to feed the deer but we have taken so much of their habitat.) When the two-year-old buck came up to nose her and her fawns out, she took off after him and chased him off.
There are more and more deer (and skunks, rabbits, foxes) on the streets in our neighborhood after a new development was built several years ago destroying close to 50 acres of woodland. There’s one large patch of woodland left. If I ever won the lottery (which I don’t play), some of that money would go to buying up patches of woods to give God’s creatures some respite from greedy developers.
Prayer for the Day
Just as the sun breaks over the horizon and birds begin to flutter about,
We are overwhelmed by the beauty of your creation;
The early morning breeze gives only a hint of the day to come,
And we search for respite from the heat of the day.
Embrace us with your Spirit, O Creator, sustaining us
So we experience your Presence all around us.
In the name of the One who reflects your Spirit,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
The one process now going on that will take millions of years to correct is the loss of genetic and species diversity by the destruction of natural habitats. This is the folly our descendants are least likely to forgive us.
- E.O. Wilson, biologist, naturalist (1929-2021)
Adults keep saying: “We owe it to the young people to give them hope.” But I don’t want your hope. I don’t want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. And then I want you to act. I want you to act as you would in a crisis. I want you to act as if the house is on fire. Because it is.
Greta Thunberg, climate activist
O sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Psalm 96:1