Death and Life

I don't know the story behind this deer.  How it died, how it came to be here.  That really doesn't matter now, she is providing life in her death.  This winter is a severe one so far with deep snow and very cold early December temperatures making it a struggle for some to survive.  She is slowly returning back to the earth and saving some of her fellow creatures along the way.  Cruel? No, it's natures way and one animal is no more important than another, although as humans we sometimes think so.

I almost snowshoed past this find, I was tired from breaking trail and just wanted to keep moving, but the camera was handy and I held it high directly overhead and made the picture.  One nice thing about late December days is the sun is always low and can provide interesting light and shadows, so even the crow tracks stand out on the snow.  Made me wonder how many animals have stopped here to take their share of the carcass. By spring, I doubt many of the bones will even be here any longer-carted off to different parts of the surrounding woods, maybe for me to find another time, on another hike.

Death and Life