Within a lodge of broken bark The tender Babe was found, A ragged robe of rabbit skin Enwrapped His beauty round.
"Huron Carol"
The park rangers asked if I would help vaccinate their herd of buffalo.
“You bet!” I said.
I’ve worked plenty of cattle, but penning bison was a new adventure. Did you know they can run 40 miles an hour? Did you know their hide is so thick that snow won’t melt off their backs?
Bison bulls can grow six-and-a-half feet tall. When their tails stick straight up, Run!, 'cause they’ll fixing to charge straight at you!
It might seem odd to focus on bison during Christmas week. After all, the animals that crowd inside our household Nativity scenes are donkeys, cows and lambs. Maybe a camel or two. But that’s not the case for the manger scene nestled beneath the tree in my house.
Years ago, friends gave me a Native American arrangement. The stable is a teepee, the shepherds are braves, the magi are chiefs and the animals include an eagle, rabbits, horses and, yes, a buffalo.
I treasure this unique decoration. It not only reminds me of long-ago friends, but delivers a spiritual message as well: Grace might prance like a lamb in a stable, but the world’s redemption shakes the soul like the rumble of bison on an open plain.
As the hunter braves drew nigh, The angels’ song rang loud and high. The chiefs from far before Him knelt With gifts of fox and beaver pelt. “Huron Carol”