Encounters with Wild Animals

Doe and fawn, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Clarno Unit

One of the amazing things about our national parks and monuments is the opportunity to see animals in the wild.  We had several memorable encounters on our road trip to the Painted Hills and John Day Fossil Beds National Monument.  Each sighting felt like luck and serendipity.

I saw this doe and her fawn on the trail in the Clarno Unit off the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument:

I saw two rabbits.  One at the end of the Arch Trail in the Clarno Unit, and one under a bridge on the Red Hill Trail of the Painted Hills Unit.  The second one seemed mesmerized by a huge rattlesnake nearby, but it eventually woke up and ran away.

Here is the huge rattlesnake.  I’m glad to have seen this one, as I had never before seen one in the wild.  But I was happy not to see more!

Snake skin

We saw a couple of antelope, but we were able to pull off the road and watch this one jump over a fence from a meadow, then run across the road, and finally change his mind and return back to the meadow:

And here is a pretty moth or butterfly:

Deer and Reindeer

Today’s post features another of my favorite pieces from the Seattle Art Museum’s exhibit, Luminous: The Art of Asia.  I suppose I have reindeer on the brain, but I was especially captivated by the vital images of deer on “Poem Scroll with Deer.”  Despite his economy with line and spare strokes, Japanese painter Tawaraya Sotatsu captures the life and beauty of these deer.  I also love the combination of words and art — the calligraphy is an integral part of this piece.  The Seattle Art Museum owns half of the 72-foot scroll.  How fortunate we are to have this great art in Seattle!

Calligraphic line of deer in flight

The repeated images make a lovely patterned design.

Image from Poem Scroll with Deer

Detail of scroll, feeding herd of deer

Hiking at Ebey’s Landing

My daughter hiking at Ebey's Landing, July 1996

One of my favorite places to hike is Ebey’s Landing on Whidbey Island.  I try to go at least once a year.  It’s a lovely hike on a bluff overlooking Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains.  I walk back to the trail head along the driftwood-strewn beach.

Trail up to the top of the bluff at Ebey's Landing

View from the top of the bluff back toward the trail head

Dandelion along the trail

A family of hikers from Paris far ahead on the bluff trail

View from the bluff across Admiralty Inlet on Puget Sound to the Olympic Mountains

Shades of blue, Olympic Mountains and Puget Sound

Bald Eagle near Ebey's Landing

Twin Fawns

Twin fawns suckling, Ocean Shores

These twin fawns and their mother were the highlight of my recent trip to Ocean Shores.  We saw them alongside the road and pulled over to watch for a while.