Mother Nature has gifted me twice in two days with one of my favorite of her creations... shed deer antlers. We have zillions of white-tailed deer on our farm, and February is the time that the bucks annually shed them. (Here's a doe that I photographed from the car window after one of our recent snows).
Yesterday, I found one while feeding, at the spot where one of our guardian dogs always lies. Today, I just happened to see a very lovely one laying in the grass near our driveway. Paul and I have a nice collection on our mantle, and hope to make something really neat with them someday.
My brother Andy was here two years ago, and we went for a long hike with the hope of finding "sheds." He had given me a gorgeous antler one time many years ago for my birthday- he found it in Colorado while hiking on a high plateau. On this walk, we came upon one of the most spectacular ones I'd ever seen, right in the middle of the trail and in perfect condition. I mentioned that I'd heard that sometimes a buck will lose both antlers at nearly the same time, so we should look for the other. Sure enough, just a stone's throw away was the other half of the pair. Andy kept one and I have the other- we took some silly photos with them!
My brother Andy was here two years ago, and we went for a long hike with the hope of finding "sheds." He had given me a gorgeous antler one time many years ago for my birthday- he found it in Colorado while hiking on a high plateau. On this walk, we came upon one of the most spectacular ones I'd ever seen, right in the middle of the trail and in perfect condition. I mentioned that I'd heard that sometimes a buck will lose both antlers at nearly the same time, so we should look for the other. Sure enough, just a stone's throw away was the other half of the pair. Andy kept one and I have the other- we took some silly photos with them! My final antler memory goes way back to my sophomore year in college. I was extremely infatuated with a guy named Dave and was thrilled when he invited me to go jogging with him. We had what was to me an enchanting run, stopping at a pine forest on the outskirts of campus along the way. Later we crossed a field and came upon an antler. He saw it first and kept it, though I secretly coveted that antler since I was a city girl and had never even touched one. We went on a few magical dates after that, and on Valentine's Day there was a card and small package at my door- it was the antler! Our relationship never really went much past my own crush, but I do still have that antler.
I adore antler buttons, and am knitting a sweater vest right now for which I plan to use some that I brought back from Alaska. There is no doubt in my mind that Mother Nature always shares with us the best gifts, with examples such as today's beautiful weather and the lovely antlers!
1 comment:
Such great memories, Lindy. Thanks for sharing them. We have an assortment of antlers around too, but no romantic stories attached to them...most of them carted home by the Pyrenees from the far reaches of the farm. (Long distance knitting group tomorrow!)
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