Ah yes … lying right there in the middle of my bunchberry dogwood patch. Why not. Since my bunchberry dogwoods are so very tasty! Sigh.
I’m not sure where the other two deer are … they always hang together in a girl-pack. But this particular one has had a weakness for my bunchberry dogwoods this entire Spring. I guess my bunchberry dogwoods are worth splitting apart from the pack for a bit, to take some time to rest … smack dab in the middle of tasty goodness! Makes it conveniently easy to enjoy a nibble here and there while resting!
She totally knows she’s being naughty. Just a few days ago I stood on the front porch shooing her away … waving my arms and telling her to go off into the forest to graze. And she just stood there! … and looked at me. She loves her bunchberry dogwoods!
But she’s practically eradicating them by eating off all the new growth, and all blooms. It’s a good thing the bunchberry dogwoods are tenacious! They’re hanging on! Struggling … but hanging on nonetheless.
I can’t help but think of Proverbs 14:4 – “Where there are no oxen, the crib is clean; but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.”
This was my go-to parenting verse when my kids were little: “Where there are no children, the house is clean & neat & tidy; but there is an abundance of life & love & joy that come from my precious children!”
And so it is with the little lady resting in my front flowerbed. I love having the deer around. It brings me great joy to watch them, and to know that they feel safe and at home on our little piece of forest property.
So I’m fine with the “frustration” that comes with it … of having my bunchberry dogwoods eaten off to almost nothing, then trampled and smashed by being lain upon. It’s ok. The bunchberry dogwoods will come back. They’ll be ok.
The things in life that bring joy and life … the things in life that matter the most, they invariably come with some degree of frustration, sacrifice, and “mess” along the way. But the sacrifice and “mess” are well worth the abundance of life gained in return.
