Oh My, Oh Deer!

Coming to work, I had to stop for a car that was stopped in my lane, not turning, just sitting there. I was a little annoyed until I tried to see around it and saw there was a deer in front of it. That's pretty common in our rural area, so I wasn't surprised. Then I saw a flurry of movement lower down, and as the deer stepped out to continue crossing the road I saw clustered tightly around her legs, three little fawns, so tiny and thin they were obviously newborns. I would say the most they could have been was three days old, but they might have been even born during the night, they were so tiny.

We usually have does come around our house every year with one or even two fawns, but it is unusual to see three. I didn't get a picture darn it, they were through the bushes and gone before I could do anything. (The photos are from the internet)  The doe was healthy and well-fed, so I think she has a good chance of being able to feed them all, if she can keep them safe from cars and coyotes.

First stop on the Bucket list

My brothers, Mark and Wayne, came for a visit the last week of May from their homes in Georgia and North Carolina. My youngest brother, Wayne, has just arrived at that point in his life where retirement is beckoning as his nest is emptying. Not to be a cliche or anything, he just bought a red Mustang convertible, and would like to drive it around the world. That not being possible, he has set a goal to travel all around the continental US and to go to the four corners of the country.

With that in mind, his plan for this trip was to get the first corner done, so we made a trip around the Olympic Peninsula with a hike out to the tip of Cape Flattery at Neah Bay. With our mom along, this was a four day jaunt with what remains of our original nuclear family. That is a sweet thing. Though we miss dad and Brian, we feel blessed to be able to be together as we are.

I warned Wayne that May travel on the peninsula is a dicey proposition, weather-wise, but he was philosophical about it since it was the only time slot that both he and Mark could make, saying that when visiting a rain forest, you have to expect to get rained on, and that he would bring along boots and rain gear. We did get showers, mist and steady rain, but also some sun, enough to make a good balance.

I'm getting the pictures uploaded to my family site, so I thought I'd make some entries here with a few choice shots.