Saturday 19 September 2015

A Deer Parable

Last week when Aditi's family were visiting, I tagged along with them to Richmond Park.

Shortly after our picnic lunch, Aditi's parents declared they would spend the rest of the afternoon lazing under a tree. Disdainful of this sedentary attitude, Aditi, her sister and I decided to explore further, and try to track down some of the wild deer which roam free in the park.

We ranged far and wide, exploring as much of the park as time permitted. We trudged through woods, meadows and bracken, treading quietly, venturing into less frequented areas, trying to second-guess the deer. But the most exciting thing we found was a parrot-feather.

When we got back, Aditi's dad asked us whether we had managed to spot any deer. We admitted that we hadn't. Not without a hint of smugness, he tilted his head to indicate a spot to his left. There, hardly 15 metres from where they were lounging, three fallow deer were unconcernedly munching on grass. Apparently the deer arrived on the scene minutes after we strode off; at one point they came so close that Aditi's mum had to literally shoo them away.

I am sure there is a life lesson in there somewhere.

4 comments:

Lalanti said...

Not to forget how we assured ourselves that the google images of all the Richmond Park deer were probably taken early in spring or during the beginning of winter when there are few people out and about scaring the deer away. Sigh.

Sroyon said...

@Aditi's sister: Yes. :) I later found out that the park has over 600 deer, so I think we would have been unlucky not to see any.

rama said...

Magic only happens when we let go....love your blog!

Sroyon said...

Thank you Auntie! I think you've summed up the life lesson here. :)