Living in Northeast Washington provides many opportunities to observe abundant species of wildlife in their natural habitat. I never tire of driving through the countryside, especially in early Summer when it's what I like to call "Baby Season". There is no greater thrill than coming across a mother and her offspring... a freshly born fawn, all wobbly legged, trying to stand for the first time... a Gambel Quail attempting to cross the road with a trail of little chicks scurrying close behind or big families of Wild Turkeys rustling through the brush with babies of all sizes, making it impossible to figure out which "poults" belong to which mother... a lone Coyote standing guard in the tall grass while her pups roll around playing in the afternoon sun. Through the years, I've been blessed with sightings of several different species of mothers with their children... bear, skunks, raccoons, elk, moose, chipmunks (so tiny & cute!) and no matter what, they never cease to amaze me! I don't discriminate, I also love to go to the local farms... watching the calves with their big brown eyes romping around playing tag with their new friends or seeing a new foal running through the fields on their spindly legs trying to keep up with it's mother... sooo much to enjoy, how can anyone help but smile?!
Several weeks ago I noticed my cat, Blossom, becoming increasingly excited as she looked out of her favorite window. Upon further investigation I noticed her gaze was fixed on an area of the tall grass in the back field. Suddenly, I saw it (just barely)... a newborn fawn was laying very still in the grass! It's mother had left it there, it instinctively knew to stay put! It's not unusual after giving birth for the mother to leave to find water and recuperate a bit, all the while watching out (from a safe distance) that nothing harms her baby. A few hours later they were gone. They return every evening to munch about on the grass... I like to think that they come to let Blossom & I know that they are well and to just see how much the fawn has grown... and believe me, she has!!
Below is a picture of Our Baby at about 3 weeks old... (No pictures from that first day, coming into this "big bad world" was scarey enough!)
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| Blossom's new friend "Baby" |
While I was in Washington for vacation I saw a few deer,...and for the first time I saw a bald eagle and raccoon! (I squealed each time! ha!) :)
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