The deer, and the night, and the music

By Mary Sharry
Sun contributor
One winter night, when the snow was deep, the deer moved into the village to forage at the bird feeders. I stood at the front window and played my violin. Drawing the bow over taut strings, I was intent on producing a sweet tone. For a beginner this was not easy.
There were no cars, and the only tracks under the street lamp were those made by the deer earlier in the evening followed by mine along with the dog’s. I played, and the dog moved to another part of the house.

Across the road, from out of the pines, a head emerged – a deer, and then another and another, and they slowly crossed the street and came into the front yard while I stood at the window. I played and they were motionless. They listened. Their ears were enormous. The deer were my first audience and they remained until I had finished, and then as elegantly as they had arrived, they left, disappearing into the pines.
The next night when I played, the deer came again, and the night after that there were six of them. They stood perfectly still. I tried to play beautifully, my full Suzuki repertoire – Go Tell Aunt Rhody, Oh Come Little Children, even Perpetual Motion. Each night, after the performance, they would leave, and return later for dinner at the bird feeders.
Perhaps the deer had only come for the food after all, but while they stayed they listened, their gaze fixed toward the window, their ears, I imagined, filled with the sound of music. One night, though, they didn’t appear, and I thought that perhaps the thaw had allowed them to move on to more suitable grazing areas.
I’ve continued to play each night, standing there with some hope that the deer will return as I try to pull a pleasing sound from my violin. Now I’ve gone on to Bach Minuets, and the dog still leaves the room.
Perhaps the deer would be enticed if they heard Brahms’ Waltz. Surely, they wouldn’t like von Weber’s Hunters’ Chorus. Maybe though, it’s the food. I’ve not served corn for some time. Would they come back for Schumann’s Happy Farmer?