Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. – Albert Einstein, Theoretical physicist, mathematician (1879-1955)
Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed. – Mahatma Gandhi, Indian lawyer, politician (1869-1948)
One evening last week at the edge of twilight where the sun was sinking beyond the tree line Sam stepped out on the porch. He leaned back inside and whispered, “Come see the deer in silhouette at the edge of the lake.” There were four adult deer and one fawn. We eased out, sat and watched from the porch chairs. The deer fed on the grass and drank from the lake water. The fawn wandered a short distance away kicking with its newly earned legs. As the adult deer started to move it looked like I imagined the Serengeti migration, animals moving together in the dark.
One deer left the others and slowly walked toward us. She stopped at the oak tree a few feet from the porch and behind the hanging moss. We stared at one another eye to eye, the deer and the humans, then she moseyed away in the dark joining the others and then into the woods.
The evening reminded me of a book by Denise Fleming, author and artist. She spoke at a writers conference I attended. I won’t forget what she said of her book. “Where Once There Was a Wood” (1996). In her neck-of-the woods she walked every morning seeing the wildlife, the flora and fauna until the day Denise heard machine noises, workmen moving, trees falling and condos building. She shared the title of this book immediately came to her as she ran home saying over and over as not to forget, “Where Once There Was a Wood.”
The following is from Denise on the book’s jacket cover, “Where Once There Was a Wood,” was inspired by the woods, meadows and creek near her home. “I spent a great deal of time in the area watching wild creatures go about their lives,” she says. “And it was there that I collected plant material for the borders of this book. Unfortunately, the area is now a housing development.”
Fleming wants to ensure that the former woodland is not forgotten. “I hope this book will inspire others to preserve-and create-their own wildlife habitats.”
Our home is in the Black Prairie and considered the largest remaining expanse of tallgrass prairie in the southeastern United States, specifically located in a region spanning parts of Mississippi and Alabama. In Mississippi the Black Prairie includes parts of Chickasaw, Clay, Lowndes, Monroe, Noxubee, and Oktibbeha. It is often referred to as the “Black Belt” due to its dark, fertile soil. The prairie supports a diverse array of essential habitat for native plants and animal species, including specific grassland birds and insects.
The information in the last paragraph is gleaned from A.I. and Google. The first paragraph is what we see and where we live. The paragraph about Denise and her book is how and where there once was a wood full of trees, meadows, and creeks with red fox, deer, squirrels, raccoons, owls, waxwings, blue jays, cardinals, fish, turtles, rabbits. There once was a wood.
Shannon Bardwell is a writer living quietly in the Prairie. Email reaches her at [email protected].
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