Without an end to the Texas drought in sight, I sometimes worry about the beautiful local, state, and national parks in this part of the country. Recovery could be a long process and that worries me. I want other families to be able to enjoy the outdoors like we have during our two years in San Antonio.
But today something happened that made me think everything will recover and that nature has a way of overcoming the harshest conditions.
My daughter and I visited O.P. Schnabel Park today to have a picnic lunch. This park is by no means remote. In fact, I could see the large YMCA building from our picnic table, and I could hear cars cruising by on busy Bandera Road. But despite the park’s proximity to civilization–and despite the drought–we got to experience nature at its best.
As we organized our food on the table, we noticed three deer in the distance (although they’re nearly impossible to see in this picture).
This was fun enough, but it gets better. Two of the deer, a fawn and its mom, approached us. They were hesitant, but they kept coming closer to our picnic table. Eventually the adorable fawn was standing just a few feet away from my daughter. E. was thrilled! She started to “baby talk” to the deer in the same voice that she uses to talk to our dog.
“Come here little fella. It’s ok!”
The fawn inched closer, the mom following close behind, and I managed to get a picture.
It was pure magic. It made me hopeful.
Magical Moment: My 3 year-old prayed for rain earlier this summer. It happened. He’s been praying for rain ever since.
Thanks for sharing! I think everyone will be relieved when fall arrives in San Antonio.
SOO neat!!!!!
It was so fun! E. started drawing pictures of deer as soon as we got home.