YOWZA! After writing yesterday's post, we left home for a graduation party. On our way, we had (what I called in yesterday's post) a surprise moment. Right out of the blue, two fawns were standing beside the road. They stood as still as rocks and waited until I could take this photo. Aren't they exactly what I meant when I said we have little surprises sprinkled along our life path?
We stopped the car, as no one was following us. We savored the moment(s) until they swiftly ran back into the woods.
How was it that we were exactly where these two little creatures were at the same moment?
 |
Can you see the fawn
in this picture? |
Why do fawns have spots? Well, Mother Nature takes her paint brush and dapples their reddish-brown coat with white spots so they blend in with the dappled sunlight on the forest floor. This makes them less visible to coyotes, bobcats and foxes, and the fawns have almost no scent. The mother deer leave their fawns hidden while they go looking for food, and these white spots help conceal their babies. While momma deer is gone, the fawns remain motionless and curled up. The spots disappear when the fawns are about three or four months old when they start to develop their winter coats.
The average number of spots on a fawn is between 272-342. The spots on their coat run in two lateral lines, one on each side of the spine, running from the ears to the tail. Additional spots are randomly scattered on the body. Their specific number and arrangement of spots are individual to each fawn, much like how fingerprints are unique to each human.
 |
| Does this look like evolution? |
We can choose our own perspectives when it comes to Divine Design vs. Evolution. Even though I must confess to being a doubting Thomas when it comes to many of my religion's teachings, my heart and my head can't help but sense a Divine Designer. Some say that evolution is a part of the Divine Design. It's not only the spots on a fawn, the stripes on a tiger, or the stripes on a zebra, but how 'bout the concentric growth of rings in a tree? Why do the spots on a fawn disappear? How does evolution do that? Why does evolution give stripes to some animals and give spots to others? How did evolution create the coloration of the peacock's feathers?
Heaven knows, I'm no scientist, biologist, geologist or botanist. There's a whole lot more of my cranial capacity than there are of the computer-brains in the world, and we have the right to choose what feels best for us. It's comforting to think that there's a Divine Creator who is looking out for us. Evolution gives me not a hint of comfort.
Perhaps academia has all the answers, and the rest of us do not. Most people wouldn't lay out their doubts like I do. But, I use my doubts wisely. My doubts drive my curiosity. The intrigue for me is that over and over, more and more, I keep finding things in Nature that press the thumb on the scale of Divine Creation. All that should matter to me is how I perceive things. What does my level of understanding allow me to know? what do my personal experiences tell me? what does my level of compassion allow me to feel? what understanding comforts me and quiets my mind? what things do I need to do to feed my soul? to lift my spirits?
For me, life is at its finest when I connect with Nature....when I find amazing beauty in the natural world. When I engage in creative activity, life is at its finest for me. When I feel a sense of purpose, life is at its finest for me. Spending time with people that are like me....who like to laugh and joke around.....who are loving and caring......when our values align.....that's when life is at its finest for me. When I take time to appreciate the good things in my life, that's when life is at its finest for me. At my current age, I make sure that I treat myself to rest and relaxation. I cast negativity to the winds and pray it flies far, far away from me. When I am learning something new, life is at its finest for me.
I am not a religious person, but rather a spiritual person. Religion insists we follow a structured road. Spirituality allows us to each hike our own trail. I've never found wildflowers growing along the structured road.
