Separated by Split Rails
Tires rolled past on the hot highway asphalt just inches from a tiny spotted deer curled against the gravel shoulder.
A man in a blue baseball cap stepped forward, stopping his stride beside the little animal.
On the opposite side of a tall split-rail fence, an adult doe stood watching from the forest brush.
The mother leaned her neck between the wooden rails, extending her muzzle outward toward the asphalt.
The man paused in place, letting her sniff the air and reach directly toward his chest.
Her dark nose brushed the front of his gray shirt as she examined him.
He remained still, keeping his hands down at his sides until she stepped back.
The fawn stayed low on the ground, tucked tight against the dirt beneath the bottom log.
It shifted its legs slightly, too weak or frightened to scale the steep wooden boundary.
Reaching Across the Barrier
The man bent his knees and lowered both hands toward the ditch.
He slid his fingers underneath the fawn’s small chest and stomach, testing its weight.
The fawn let out a short, quiet kick against the gravel as his palms lifted its frame off the dirt.
He adjusted his grip around the animal’s ribbed torso to keep its spindly legs from dangling.
Rising slowly from his crouch, he brought the fawn level with the top rail of the cedar fence.
The mother doe took a single step closer, planting her hooves into the soft green dirt.
Her ears rotated forward, fixed entirely on the bundle held in the man’s arms.
He held the young deer up in the air, balancing his footing against the sloping embankment.
Reunion in the Brush
The mother pushed her face forward, touching her nose directly against the fawn’s forehead.
The fawn leaned into her snout, opening its mouth and nudging her jaw.
The man shifted his weight forward, extending his arms over the top beam of the wooden railing.
He tipped his wrists downward, lowering the fawn’s hooves toward the thick green grass on the other side.
The fawn’s rear legs touched the patch of weeds beneath the doe’s front feet.
The man loosened his grip, sliding his palms free from its spotted flank.
The doe immediately dipped her head, pressing her tongue against the fawn’s back and sides.
The young deer shook its small tail, wobbled on long, thin legs, and stepped close to her flank.
Together, the doe and her fawn turned their backs to the highway fence and disappeared into the thick green trees.
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