Happy Pink Saturday…Meet “Stumpy” our Little Miracle Deer

This week again I want to share Pink Attitude story…a story about a little doe who has the most amazing Pink Spirit…It’s corny, so be warned…Every afternoon hubby and I put out a little extra feed for our deer friends. It’s not much…some shelled corn, leftover tortilla chips the day after Mexican food night,  half a loaf of bread, apples, just a little extra food and a few more calories to help them out during dry times. But we love to watch  several of them eat the bread. …we call them “the Bread Eaters”. They prefer white bread over whole wheat…wouldn’t you think the reverse would be true?

But the bland white bread seems to be agreeing with them…just look at that beautiful coat. Most of them are pretty healthy.

Today I want to share a remarkable deer survival story. Two years ago one of our fawns broke her leg right at the hoof. I saw her running along the river bed with that broken hoof flopping like a stretched out sock…it was horrible and for the next few days Hubby and I fretted over her fate…we were certain she would suffer a slow wasting death…we could hardly talk about it… then one day she showed up at the feeder dragging her little foot hobbling around on  the remaining broken bone of her rear leg…she ate corn and was getting around pretty well…eventually she lost the hoof and the bone healed over…well,  it became our mission to make sure she got a pile of corn all to herself every day and a slice of bread when she wanted one…we never thought she would make it through that winter. We kept track of the days we saw her…we counted up days she went missing…we cursed every circling vulture in the sky…but then, like a miracle, she would show up…she can run with the best of them and it’s only when she is walking slowly that you notice the obvious limp. We started calling her Stumpy.

  If she were a real wildlife deer out in the countryside, she would never have survived, but here in town on the river with water close by and neighborhoods with lots of shrubs and kind people putting out extra grub, she made it through her yearling stage…she had a good summer last year, again made it through the winter and this spring?…you guessed it…she was obviously pregnant. The worry and fretting started all over again…how could she feed a fawn?…what dangers were waiting for the offspring of such a handicapped mother? We have yet to see her with a fawn that we can be sure belongs to her…Hubby saw her at the feeder with a pair of young today,  we don’t know if she has twins, or if she was on babysitting detail…and  maybe only one was hers…We have become more calm about her fate. What Stumpy reminds me is that I need to have faith that all is well and while Nature can be cruel, animals have courage and an amazing willpower to survive.  I told you it was corny, but we love that little deer for her will to survive.

To me Pink Saturday is about looking for and finding the beauty and the joy around us every day. Stumpy is that for me.  Look at her picture…yes, she’s deformed…but she’s also incredibly strong of spirit…Pure Pinkatude.

Next week I promise real pink…and now to Beverly’s house… our Pure Pink Hostess for a list of happy Pink Saturday posts.http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/