Skip to main content

The Buck... Stops



The Buck, well he the three legged, injured, kind Buck... didn't stop here over the past few days. I looked through the kitchen window yesterday afternoon, as our temperatures pulled up to a 'Balmy' 17 degrees farenheit. Well it felt balmy, compared with the morning of 7 degrees and this morning at eight of 5 degrees.
I began to worry for him yesterday at three o'clock in the afternoon. That time is when the herd had arrived in my backyard. I realized just minutes before I was outside and saw who I thought was his caregiving buddy. Yet, who appeared a prince now suddenly groomed into the king of the nine deer I saw yesterday.
He arrived in the open side yard alone at first. He looked at me intently.  I actually felt his communion with me. I asked, "Where's your buddy?" He looked. He seemed without, as if he knew what I'd just asked. And he didn't want to reckon with the answer.  Neither did I. If you've watched deer enough you can see their peace, their discontent, their sorrow and their happiness, along with other emotions. Yes, they feel in their own natural way.
I hoped the injured buck was resting in the woods nearby. I was actually going to give him and his buddy if they were alone some hay today. I had extra. A three to four month supply is what I keep on hand.
So, as I realized the injured buck survived just so much for the past three months. However, this bitter cold and inclement weather may have just done him in, due to his slowed limping gait. I hoped not. But as usual, I knew all I had left for him now was a prayer. What use would it be for? For hope. For no suffering.  For him to die knowing he truly had demonstrated valuable lessons to his buddy, the younger deer and any other being aware of his existence, his plight. His incredible will to survive. Against all odds, he did more than I'd ever witnessed a wild animal do. But yes, I'd like to see him one more time. Either way I miss him already, with little hope to know he lives.---Jody-Lynn Reicher

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

2023 Holiday Letter from the Reicher's

Well, I didn't think I'd be doing a Holiday Letter this year, but here goes... The Spirit of Norm is in the air. As the wind whips with minus a true snowstorm.  In hopes the Farmers Almanac was correct, I pray to the snow gods. Rain ensued the month of December thus far. We have nearly tripled the amount of rainfall usual for December in New Jersey. And I've witnessed its treachery. Storms such as these hit us hardest in July. Then remained fairly intense through til about early October.  Our daughters are doing well, Thank God.  Their Dad would be proud of them. Our oldest Sarah, now a Junior at UCLA pursuing her degree in Chemical Engineering. She's digging the whole California scene. Which I thought it was for her. She's had some good traveling on her off times from school. For her March 2023 week off, she drove her and a few friends out to Lake Tahoe and went downhill skiing for a first in nearly 5 years. She had to rent the ski equipment.  Funny enough when ...

"It’s the Hardest Thing..."

My friend since 1996, neighbor and pet care person texted back, "It's the hardest thing...". She texted back the morning just hours prior to my decision to have our last pet euthanized. It's not something I'd ever done. Although I've been told I have a killer instinct. Which I've discovered over the past 20 years that would be true. A promoter said that to my fight coach after my first cage fight. The promoter saw the charged smile on my face after I'd just lost to a decision. I am disciplined, so thank God for that. My feeling is we all have that, but not the amount I've discovered I have, and most certainly most do not have the obsessive level of discipline I have had or have. Fast forward to yesterday afternoon holding our bunny for quite sometime before her sedation in a veterinary treatment room.  About 20 minutes later the vet and vet tech arrived finding a spot to inject a sedative into our pet bunny. They said it would take ten minutes, th...

June 12th 2025

  Finally getting our oldest on the phone. "Mom! Chill! A man faceplanted on the ground. Blood was everywhere. It was so bloody Mom. We helped him."  She continues her hyper mode annoyed I called/texted 6x in one hour when no response was received from them. You know that parenting Mom thingy.  Oldest: "Didn't she tell you? We're doing pictures near sunset." She remarked, annoyed. Me/Mom: "Oh. Wow. Okay. And Thank you for being kind."  That's what I was reduced to. Hours later... Youngest explains now in my hotel room. Me/Mom: "So, what happened?" Youngest: "Mom, I thought he was like praying. He was laying facedown." Me/Mom: "Oh. Did it just happen?" Youngest: "People were passing by. But we didn't see the faceplant. As I approached, I realized he wasn't praying... you know like some religions do at certain times." Me thinking... I guess that ten years in the morning of teaching the kids religi...