Fawn on Flannery Fork

How did I get this pic?  I was driving back very early from my walk on the Rich Mountain Trails.  As I rounded a curve on Flannery Fork Road [a gravel road], ahead was a doe who’d obviously heard my approach.  She stared at me in panic while frantically jumping back and forth on the road.  She’d recently given birth to this fawn, on the road.  Finally, she jumped off the road into the woods.  I knew that does always stay nearby their fawns, waiting for danger to pass before they re-emerge.  I drove by the fawn, rolling down the window and taking just this one shot in a brief pause before moving on. I didn’t want to disturb the fawn or scare the mama even further by lingering a long time for a number of shots.  I drove ahead far enough that I thought the mama might come back out of the woods, and parked in the same lane as the fawn.  The fawn was so tiny that it couldn’t be see far away in the dim morning light, and I wanted to be able to stop any oncoming traffic and make sure they used the other lane [fortunately, there was enough sight distance to do this and be safe].  After about 15 minutes with no traffic, the fawn slowly got to its feet, ambled about on the road, then headed into the woods near where its mother had fled. I drove on home and was delighted to find that my one picture turned out well.  It’s my 2009 ‘Here’s looking at you, kid’ shot.  Hope it’s a great life for you, little one.

Taken on the Rich Mountain Trail above Trout Lake Parking Area, Blue Ridge Parkway, mp 294.  What can I say?  I love the aura of mystery that foggy days bring to the woods, and the muted colors.

 I happened upon this snail hiking the Tanawha Trail above Cold Pond Overlook, mp 299, Blue Ridge Parkway.  As I mention on the calendar, snails always make me think of my younger daughter, Lily.  We often took hikes together when we lived in ranger housing.  Being an adult, I wanted to get in a good vigorous hike.  Lily always wanted to stop and ’smell the flowers’ — investigate everything, especially small things.  It was always good for me when her interests brought me back to the here and now, to the wonders of our forest environment.  One year she wanted to be a slug for Halloween.  I thought, ‘oh this will be an easy costume.  A brown tube.’  She said, ‘No, mother. Slugs have breathing holes’ and went on to enumerate their other features.  The costume was accordingly designed.  So, now, when I see the small things of nature, I feel close to her, even though she is half a country distant.

yellow mushroom

Looking through past pictures, I ran across this mushroom.  They come in so many shapes, forms, and colors that I always enjoy their manifestations.  And on this lovely snowy and white mountain day, the bright yellow was much appreciated.

This young deer let me get amazingly close to take this shot.  S/he seemed entirely focused on a delicous meal of acorns.  Blue Ridge Parkway, Price Park Campground, mp 296