This farm boy grew up, met an amazing woman, and had two children. He eventually become my grandfather. He used to walk seven miles to and from school. On one of those walks home a doe was struck and killed by a vehicle. He brought the fawn home and took care of it until it was self-sufficient. It lived on and around the family farm for many years until one day it disappeared. While my family has farmed, fished, and hunted for generations, we have always valued life. We took only what we could eat and never hunted for sport. All people owe a debt to nature for their survival.
©Melanie Reynolds. Not for sale, distribution or reproduction.
The Nature-led Life 
I don’t regard hunting as sport. And certainly not with the high-powered guns of today. In fact, I don’t like many of the modern “improvements.” I grew up in dairy country and most of the farmers were pretty good skiers, because the cows were allowed to dry off in winter!
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Buffalo in the U.S nearly went extinct because people would shot them from trains and leave the carcasses to rot. Partly because they though it was fun and also because of racism. They knew they were sacred to many indigenous tribes and highly valued for their meat, hides and bones used by the tribes. I also hate that if a person is rich enough they can go to certain game reserves to kill endangered animals, again, just for sport and maybe take the head and hide as a trophy.
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That is a pretty awesome story of your grandfather. I really appreciate that recognition of the value of all life. Very nice.
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Thank you, Mark. 🙂
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I love this story. A lot of people would have put a collar on that animal, or in some way kept it tied to their property so they could show it off to their friends. It was an act of pure mercy to let that animal go back where it belonged. Rock.
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Thanks! Some family friends once rescued a skunk baby skunk. Same situation, mother killed by car. They raised it but never tried to keep it as a pet, kept the scent gland intact and everything. It never sprayed any of us. It eventually found a mate and several generations of skunks lived on that property but never sprayed my friends or their two dogs who didn’t mess with them.
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I think that anyone who gets a thrill out of killing should be kept at arm’s length.
Sx
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Agreed! If I notice that animals don’t like a person then I think they too should be kept at arms length because sometimes the animals know things we cannot see.
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Great story, Melanie. Thanks for sharing. Don’t make me cry when I’m about to go to work. I gotta be “nice” to people. 😉
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Ha,ha,ha. 🙂
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Aw, how lovely! Except, I hope your grandfather didn’t witness the doe getting struck?
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I don’t know if he did, but I would guess that he probably did. When I was growing up we would always pull over to help people and animals stranded on the side of the road. It’s pretty common to have car-deer accidents in this state. I am the only person I know that hasn’t hit a deer. I’ve only been the accidental Grim Reaper for three squirrels in 30+ yrs of driving.
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Most people now live too far from the natural world to understand the reciprocity of it. It’s a huge problem. (K)
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I agree! Which is why I want to help bring the forests back into the cities and find a balance. Nature is for everyone and how can people help protect something if they don’t relate to it?
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