Small Wonders

I spent a good part of Tuesday working in my gardens. I weeded and trimmed, mulched and planted a lilac bush and two butterfly bushes. Then I prepared the soil in the raised beds and terraced areas for the planting that would happen this weekend. After a couple of hours I leaned on my shovel and surveyed my work. The air was cool and the trees were swaying at the top in the spring breeze. I removed my muddy garden gloves and decided to take a break and walk down to the pond for some quiet time. I called my dog Ella and started down the steep winding path to the water. But I’d gone no further than a couple steps down the trail when a sleek light brown doe rose to her feet in full alert. She snorted at me the way mama deer will do if you get too close to their babies. That’s when I saw, just beneath her infinitely soft belly, twin wobbly spotted fawns.