We were in Libby MT visiting Jim and Julie, when one morning Jim awakened us to look out at the new-born fawn on the lawn by the river. (The photo is the right place with the right deer, but four days later.) The doe was still licking the baby, when we first saw it. Soon, the mother headed for a more secluded location, and the babe, whose life to that point was measured in minutes, tottered off to follow her.
Four Days Old
News & Notes
A day later we visited MT friends Doug and Dolly, who have a small acreage and two horses. Dolly took us to the barn, where a fawn was curled up under a table. They weren't surprised; last year they found a fawn under the broccoli in their garden. Their guess this year is that the doe had given birth in the field, been spooked by something, and stashed the baby in the barn. A fawn instinctively lies curled up and motionless until its mom returns. A day later the doe had retrieved her fawn.
Second Fawn, One Day Old
While we were in Libby we took two hikes with Jim and our friends Tom and Alvira. Our first was a return trip to see the Bitter Roots (Lewisia rediviva) flowering. Though it was a beautiful hike filled with many flowers, the Bitter Roots (not visible) seem to have been hard hit by cold night temperatures a few days earlier. The other hike was along an abandoned section of US Route 2 built before WW I, when engineers laid a highway gently on the land. By the 1930's two lane roads were required even in the mountains. This mountain hugging segment of Rt 2 was left behind to become a tranquil hike with gorgeous views.
Two Foresters Not Seeing The Trees
Dave has a new urban farming gig at a New York City restaurant, Pisticci. The farm is north of The City in Croton-on-Hudson, but he lives above the restaurant in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. So he takes the train to the farm. He's only been an agricommuter for a couple of weeks, but so far he's liking both the work and the Big Apple.
The news from Megan is that she is enjoying her time in and around Matagalpa Nicaragua, and the data gathering for her research is progressing well.
July 1st is July 4th in Canada - that is, Canada Day - and as usual we joined the party at Canada Place in Vancouver. One interesting activity is the citizenship ceremony. It is a beautiful event in which sixty new citizens watched the Mounties and color guard march in (with piper), enjoyed the Navy Band's ensemble and heard from dignitaries on what it means to join the Canadian family. Speakers recalled their own journey to Canada, except for Vancouver's Member of Parliament, who is a First Nations citizen. Then as their first act of citizenship, everyone stood and sang as much of O Canada as he or she could remember.
Citizenship Ceremony on Canada Day
Brendan Healy's theater company, Pony World, has mounted a new production of Suffering Inc. following a successful debut in 2011. Brendan scoured seven plays by Anton Chekhov to find dialog that he arranged into a moving play about office workers in the cubicles of (fictional) New Life Capital. Failed dreams, longing for love and to be loved, aging and regrets over life's missed opportunities devolve into anxiety, frustration and desperation. Using a deft hand and only Chekhov's words, Brendan has captured the dispair of contemporary workers trapped in dead end jobs. Bravo!
Poster for Suffering Inc.
Finally, Dan and Tomo gave us tickets to a delightful evening: Wine Tasting At The (Woodland Park) Zoo. Featuring boutique wineries of Washington State, live music, food trucks and free-roaming of much of the zoo, the event was both fun and interesting. Thanks, T & D!
Cheers to Tomo and Dan!
