eight days – antler
During my trip to Ontario, we spent lots of time, on cold days, enjoying the wood stove.
On the hearth was a deer antler, found on a walk in the woods. Usually they are hard to find since the mice chew them to nothing very quickly.
I was drawn to the antler because of its resemblance to a bony hand.
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antler
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ivory hand, posed
for incantation, shadows in unexpected places
relic of a woodland walk, artefact
enchanted, deer rub
cedar bark to summon
mist, acknowledge the passage
of days, manifest between
separation
and the gnawing of mice
~
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© Jane Tims 2012
nichepoetryandprose 
That’s a good find, and fine drawings!
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Watching Seasons
February 5, 2012 at 11:39 am
Hi. Thanks for the comment on my drawings. It pays to be vigilant when out walking. You never know what you’ll find! Just like bird watching! Jane
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jane tims
February 5, 2012 at 7:33 pm
Love the drawings – it’s remarkable how much the antler does look like a hand…
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Barbara Rodgers
February 4, 2012 at 10:11 am
Hi Barbara. I think white-tailed deer use their antlers like hands, to scrape at trees, rough up ground, do battle, etc.! Jane
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jane tims
February 4, 2012 at 11:38 am
I too saw the hand simultaneously (or so it seemed, but probably wasn’t at a nano second level!) Anyhow, I then scrolled down & read what you’d written.
What type of deer are these from? The only deer we see occasionally in France or Spain are roe deer. – very pretty & shy. As a kid I totally took for granted red deer (as well as fallow deer) as there were loads of them in our local park (Richmond park on the edge of London).
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Sonya Chasey
February 1, 2012 at 3:27 pm
Hi Sonya. The antlers are from white-tailed deer. We have quite a population of them in New Brunswick. There is a deer yard back of our woods ( a place where deer congregate) and we have seen as many as 17 deer following one another on the trail back of the house. This year there are four who come to the ground under the feeder to nibble on the fallen seeds. Jane
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jane tims
February 2, 2012 at 6:44 am
Once you mentioned it, I immediately saw the bony hand, but my first glance saw only an antler.
Steve Schwartzman
http://portraitsofwildflowers.wordpress.com
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Steve Schwartzman
February 1, 2012 at 9:00 am
Hi. It’s like one of the old puzzles where you see two faces if you look once and a vase if you look again. Our eyes are amazing. Jane
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jane tims
February 1, 2012 at 12:05 pm
Wow Jane, my first thoughts were “It really looks like a hand!” – amazing! 😀
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Eve Redwater
February 1, 2012 at 7:15 am
Hi Eve. Yes, it was a little disconcerting… not scary at all, just human-like. Jane
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jane tims
February 1, 2012 at 12:04 pm
How beautiful. What a find, Jane! As I live in a sub tropical climate in Australia, I have no knowledge of antlers and how they break down or are consumed by vermin.
Did you draw the antlers? I must keep my eyes peeled for similar artefacts. We have teams of wallabies and kangaroos leaping over fences and through our paddocks, so I am looking up more often than down.
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gardengrapevine
February 1, 2012 at 6:40 am
Hi. Yes, I drew both drawings. It is really rare to find deer antlers, just because the mice are so quick to devour them. I look down always, but I miss the lanscape-level! I am glad to welcome you to my site and I’ll have a llok at yours!! Jane
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jane tims
February 1, 2012 at 12:02 pm