Ticknock Mountains

Wounded Place: Area that has suffered deforestation and is constantly being encroached on by man. A recent “mountain initiative” has resulted mountain bike and scrambler motorbike tracks being developed through the remaining forest further displacing wildlife there.

Reason you chose this spot. We wanted to honour the wildlife that have been displaced and disturbed by the forest clearing and development. We particularly chose an area of the forest where, during the week, Ann sadly found a young pregnant Sika deer who had apparently tripped and fallen backwards into a deep motorcycle wheel rut that was full of water. It appeared that she had struggled for some time to regain her footing which resulted in her getting even more stuck in the rut. She was not able to hold her head up out of the water which resulted in this poor deer eventually drowning. It was decided that this would be the place in the forest that we would go to for our event to honour her life and that of her unborn. This sad event, for us, illustrates how much the wildlife struggle in this area when consciously or unconsciously disturbed by man and man’s actions.

Our act of beauty was to use whatever we could find in the area to fill in these deep mud ruts in the forest motorcycle trail. We used rocks and logs and brought a spade. Our other act of beauty was to gently lift the dead deer out of the pathway and move her to the side. It was as we did this we realized that we would cover her body with the flag and name her “Free” for she was now free…Reflections: During the event we wept, prayed for and wished her and all the wildlife there well. We realized how fragile their existence is and how, without intent, man can put their lives in danger such as on this occasion. Also, we thanked them for all the joy they bring to us in these hard times. When we were trekking to the area, just before we reached it we had the great privilege of coming across several deer in the fading light. They were right beside us and did not move—it was as if they knew of our purpose. We have enclosed a picture of them looking at us with this email.

We do have a picture of the deer as Ann found her. However, unless you need it for your records, we felt it was not appropriate to send it. Thank you for organizing this event and we look forward to hearing of others.