"Are we supposed to feed the deer?" I ask already knowing the answer.
"No, we aren't, but I can't stand looking at their ribs," replies Rose.
Baby Mama and babies.
Now I am wise enough (sometimes and with some people) to know when to fan a fire and when to let it go out. "Let It Be," not by the Beatles, is playing in my head. One of the things I have learned on Planet Earth is sometimes people need to be met where they are, not where I think they should be. Plus, where would we sleep if I started causing a bunch of "trouble?"
After fifteen minutes of the boys tossing bread to the deer and me taking pictures with a cellphone excuse of a camera, Vinny's tummy starts talking.
"I'm hungry!" grumbles Vinny's tummy. The funny thing is we had just finished breakfast. His tummy is prone to incessant chatter of this nature all day, everyday.
"I'm hungry!" grumbles Vinny's tummy. The funny thing is we had just finished breakfast. His tummy is prone to incessant chatter of this nature all day, everyday.
"Mommy, can you ask her if I can have some bread?" Vinny whispers in my ear.
"What?!" I say laughing. "The bread is stale and old."
"But I like that kind of bread," he pleads.
"Trust me, you don't want to eat that bread, unless you want some sort of a tummy ache." I certainly didn't want him to have a tummy ache. If his day was ruined, then everyone's day would be ruined. We had places to go and trees to see.
"Okay," he gives up.
"Okay," he gives up.
Ten minutes after we finish illegally feeding the deer, Gio asks, "Can I eat the bread? I'm hungry?"
"No its real, real old," I say using my now standard response. Although with his eating finickyness it was a tempting offer.
"Oh," he says without any begging at all. Did I mention we had just finished breakfast?
Throughout the duration of our stay, the deer visited whenever we were home. I have to admit it was hard looking into their eyes no longer having any food to offer them.
Throughout the duration of our stay, the deer visited whenever we were home. I have to admit it was hard looking into their eyes no longer having any food to offer them.
On this trip the Mama Deer were my closest mirrors. I think I have problems with my kids' constant wrestling and their relentless use of outside voices, inside. Deer Baby Mamas are much worse off scrounging for food. Although, I was terribly jealous of their "oh so quiet" babies and how all the siblings seem to get along. How do I teach my kids those skills?
While I complain about how much one kid eats and how the other only wants cookies and candy to eat, Deer Baby Mamas are relying on finding food in a habitat overrun by humans. And worse off, they are teaching their young to rely on humans, who are often times unreliable beings running amok on Planet Earth.
2 comments:
OK, so I have an opinion. The only animals that are going to survive are the ones that learn to live, deal with, and benefit from humans. Like the magnificent crows. These rascals have been witnessed stealing food from dogs by tag team strategy. One crow yanks on the dogs tail, when the dog gets irritated and chases that one crow, the other 6 swoop down with mouthfuls of dogfood. Each crow takes a turn antagonizing the dog. Another example is the crows dropping their nuts in the road so cars can run them over and crack them. Its inevitable, the only way wild animals are going to survive is if they learn to adapt and benefit from people. Population is just getting bigger, eventually there will be no room for wilderness. ESPECIALLY in parks like Yosemite where people are willing pay $80 for a campsite... (more than most motels) gimmee a break. You go deer! If you can get a little sumpin' extra from some human kids, go for it! Just don't bite their finger, they'll call you a man eating deer and shoot you.
Wow, power to the deer pan handlers.
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