Deer Swim

For through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.  Colossians 1:16 NLT

I have missed my share of photo opportunities whilst traversing the mountains where I live. And once in a while I’ll get a picture of something from a bit far away, but the uniqueness of the moment seems worth posting for others to enjoy nonetheless. Such is the above photo of three deer swimming a nearby river.

Prior to this day, I recall seeing a deer crossing a river only two other times. One was a buck crossing a stream in Canada, which I got no photo of as it was near nightfall. The other was a doe swimming the river not too many miles from our home, but I couldn’t find the camera in time to get a picture. So I just enjoyed the moment and watched her reach the other side and quickly vanish into the timber.

Recently I happened to be eating my lunch in a campground under the shade of a fir tree with Star the Wonderdog. I glanced upstream and noticed something strange-looking in the river. Then I noticed something behind it that had a similar shape. Then I saw a third figure bobbing in the water behind the first two. A quick check with the binoculars revealed a deer parade of three, bobbing and pushing their way to the other bank. I just pointed my camera in their general direction and took a few pictures, hoping to capture something worthwhile before they disappeared in the shadow of the mountains.

I’m sure animals swim back and forth across these rivers quite frequently, I’ve just not seen it up close very often. I’ve probably driven past some of them in the river, but the narrow, winding roads demand that I pay attention to my driving rather than scanning the water for swimmers. I have no desire to force myself and Stardog to become swimmers ourselves by not watching where I’m driving.

The “him” in the above Scripture refers to Jesus, Who created it all whether we see it or not. And that includes you and me. I think that’s pretty amazing.

Have a great day.