Wild Jane

The adventure of living on White Oak Mountain N.C. placed me in a scenic and peaceful natural habitat for wildlife.

My home, stood majestic at three thousand above sea-level, and the quaint city of Columbus N.C. The mountain, once the domain of the Cherokee Nation was home to Black Bears, Mountain Lions, Bobcats, Deer, Skunks, Wild Turkeys, and Rattle Snakes.

Rocky, my boxer, had a few confrontations over the years and he had learned that he was not invincible. His first experience taught him, Skunks don’t want to play but spray, the second, Bobcats slash, and the third, Rattle Snakes can still strike even when dying. The very high priced anti-venom and steroids saved his life. He wanted to make friends but couldn’t understand their wild nature.

Rocky and I exited the house one morning and went out the front door. A doe stood ten feet in front of us. She was beautiful and unafraid.

I could have sworn I heard her, in my head, say,

“Good morning.” Her voice had a mountain twang.

I said, “Good morning.”

Why am I talking to a deer? I thought to myself.

Her voice in my head said, “I’m Jane Doe, and we thank you for the mineral lick on the back slope, but we prefer a salt lick, it tastes better.”

I figured I needed more coffee or maybe I had consumed to much. Deer do not talk, I convinced myself. I got into the truck to drive to work. She had crossed the road as I drove away. I saw her in my side mirror and felt stalked by a deer named Jane Doe.

Later that afternoon, oddly compelled, I stopped at the feed supply and bought a salt lick.

That evening I saw Jane Doe at the new salt lick enjoying herself.

The next morning I went to my car and sensed I was being watched. With the amount of wildlife about you on a mountain you had to pay attention. Robert, my neighbor down the road, had attracted a rare mountain lion as a constant visitor.

I looked to the side window and jumped, startled. Jane Doe stood, close, at my car window. I lowered it all the way down. I heard her voice again say,

“Good morning, thank you for the salt lick, we are enjoying it. It’s much better for us too. By the way, the acorns supply is at the end of its season, do you plan on fertilizing the grass this year?”

You'd think me crazy. I was talking to a deer, Jane Doe. Her full fawn coat shone in the morning light and I felt entranced by the brown globes of her eyes.

I said, “I will look into it.”

That weekend I made an effort to fertilize the lawn and increased the sprinkler systems rotation and flow. Within a week the large yard appeared richer and fuller.

Rocky became friends with Jane and they enjoyed playing hide and seek in the evenings. She blended in easily to the forest beside the cabin.

You will have to look close, but she is there. Its amazing how mother nature helps deer camouflage themselves.

One day, Rocky and I sat on the deck when a storm came up quick, as they do on the mountain. High winds and flash floods were a real danger. We battened down anything loose and went inside. We were concerned for Jane Does safety but there wasn’t much we could do.

After the storm passed we saw Jane through the usual fog with her friends at the salt lick. She knew how to survive the sudden changes in weather.

The next morning the mountain seemed to float above the clouds, caused by a wedge of post storm high pressure. The weather pattern occurred each year as fall announced its approach.

We became worried because we hadn’t seen Jane Doe in days and hoped she was okay. After several days passed, Rocky convinced me to let him go look for her.

He went to the mountain-top ponds, where Deer gathered at times, and she wasn’t there.

He searched everywhere on the mountain, even the back roads, to no avail.

Days turned into weeks and we still had not found Jane Doe. The green mountain turned into the dying ambers of gold. Beautiful, but also a dangerous portent that sub-freezing weather approached.

Old man winter came quick and brutal with eighteen inches of snow. Rocky and I thought of Jane Doe every day and prayed that she survived the frigid onslaught. The temperature held at seventeen degrees with forty mile per hour winds for weeks at a time.

Some days were not as cold and Rocky continued his search for her though it froze his paws.

Months passed with a more warm days and than cold as the mountain showed mixed signs of spring.

Mama Bears and their cubs came out in search of food.

The wild turkey were on the loose again too.

We saw other Deer but they wouldn’t share anything about Jane. I couldn’t hear them in my head if they had.

Spring had been in full swing for four weeks when I set out to drive Rocky and myself to the other side of the mountain. We were in search of honey from Mr. Harley’s bee farm. We passed through a gap to the next ridge and I saw a deer on the edge of the woods by a creek. It was Jane Doe.

I stopped the truck and Rocky, “woofed!" when he saw her too. His stubbed tail wagged like a fir branch in a wind storm . When we saw her we both knew Jane Doe’s visits and play days were over. She was not alone.

I understood why she had disappeared. She had other responsibilities now.

I heard her in my head again for what would be the last time, she said,

“Hi guys, these are my fawns, Trixie and Traxie. Their dad, my buck, Orion, is up on that ridge so he can watch over us. It’s good to see you both. Please take care of the mountain.”

We watched for a bit until they eased into the woods. It was the last time we saw or heard from Jane Doe. I put the truck in gear and drove off and glanced to the side at Rocky, he looked sad.

I said, “It’s okay bud, its life on the mountain and Wild Jane Doe is where she’s supposed to be, in the wild. " I swear, I thought I saw Rocky smile.

Thank you for reading. The pictures where all taken with an Iphone 6 & 7. Please check out my other stories at

https://vocal.media/authors/j-s-wade

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