I was reminded this morning of a scene that I had witnessed a few years ago while looking out my window.  I’d like to share it with you today.

Summer Afternoon

Oppressive heat of day has passed
Warmth of late afternoon drapes the landscape like the winter quilt upon your bed
Evening, waiting in the wings, has not yet made her entrance
As I gaze out my window at the beauty of the bucolic scene
The neighbor is quietly feeding his cattle
Then I notice her as she gracefully moves through the tall grass of the low land
She stops, lifts her head, perks up her ears and looks in the direction of the neighbor’s barn
She sees no threat so the young doe lowers her head and begins to chew on the lush grass
Slowly she makes her way across the lowland
Stopping from time to time she searches her surroundings for danger
The neighbor caring for his cattle poses no immediate threat
Yet she watches and listens as she makes her way toward the pines
Only eight feet and she’ll be at the edge of my lawn
Another few feet and she’ll have the cover of the pine trees
Two rabbits eating grass on the fringe of my lawn are in her path
One more step and the rabbits startle
Fright speeds their retreat as they run for the safety of the pines
Their sudden panicked motion strikes fear into the heart of the doe
Instinctively, she rears, whirls to run away
In that same moment she realizes that it was only a couple of rabbits
Her racing pulse slowly returns to normal
She turns to continue her journey and soon reaches the smooth lawn
I continue to watch as she enters the pines
Soon after, a frightened rabbit exits the pines in full panicked flight
The rabbit disappears into the tall grass, retracing the doe’s path
The scene is finished
Turnabout is fair play