June 13, 2008 - An exciting week at the homestead!

The Somewhat Unwilling Piper of Condon
by Cori Stanek

While on a walk down Cold Creek Road earlier this week. Sarah and I (Cori) noticed, what we thought was road kill, lying in the middle of the road... until it moved…

Lying there on the hard-packed center of the road was a fawn! Our stomachs sank, how could someone be so heartless as to not slow down to miss hitting a fawn in the road? After running ahead a little we quickly discovered that there was not just one but two little ones lying huddled together.

Cute little guy!

They were not very old, their legs still malleable and hooves not quite upright. The larger of the two stood up and ran into the grass along the ditch as we got closer, leaving the smaller one laying road. The little one looked at us dejectedly, his front legs bent back underneath him.

We immediately backed up to give them space, if mom was in the woods we didn't want to scare her off. Sarah ran back to the homestead while I tried to sneak along the side of the road to determine what had happened. The little one watched me intently. When I crouched down to look, there was no blood, no mess... needless to say I was a bit confused. He continued to watch, bleated, then stood up! He was ok!

During the early weeks of spring, when the deer are having their fawns, mothers will hide their babes while they go and feed nearby. This behavior gives fawns a kind of built-in defense mechanism to hunker down wherever they are as soon as they loose sight of their mom. Melanie figured that was what happened to these little ones, mom crossed the road, the babes lost sight of her, and just plopped down in the road to wait for her return.

While thinking this through, the little one in the road just stood there squealing at me. I decided the best thing to do was to get him off the road somehow and then leave a-sap! But as I stood to leave he came bounding right over to me on his awkward little legs! He stopped at my feet, looked up at me, let out a pathetic little squeak, and then started rubbing up against my leg! Like a little dog! I was so dumbfounded I didn't know what to do. I managed to herd him across the road to where his twin was and started walking back down the road to the homestead, feeling somewhat accomplished.

Except, when I turned to look back I noticed that I had a brown, gangly little babe following closely behind! I persistently walked him back over to the other one and tried again to leave... he followed me again. I figured that if I walked far enough away from where we had found them that he would stop following me. Uh, no. He kept right on going, oh so intently. I tried going faster to try and loose him but he just bounded right along with me.

I didn't know what to do. I was suddenly having visions of this tiny little being wholeheartedly deciding he was going to be a human and follow me all the way back to the barn. Wouldn’t Tom like that? I couldn’t decide. I panicked.

Defeated, I walked him back over to his sibling (a fourth time) who was still hiding like a champ in the grass. I stood there with them, feeling distraught and helpless when I saw a truck at the end of the road. It was heading towards us. It was Adam! I felt a lilt of relief and waved to him to get him to slow down. As he pulled up and got out he looked at me standing there with the tiny little deer, and said, "Cori, what the heck are you doing with that deer?"

Cori and the little one.

I told him my dilemma in distraught tones, and I asked him what we should do. After snapping a few photos, we decided the best thing to do would be to dart to the Jeep and drive away, in hopes that mama (who was hanging nervously up the road) would come back down and collect them. Adam counted to three, we beat it for the Jeep, and the little one hunkered down with this twin. Success!

After checking back a few hours later we can honestly say that they made it off the road and to safer territory!

Moral of the story:  If you’re out during the early spring and come across a lone fawn don’t pick it up, do not fear! Its not abandoned! Just let your heart-stings yank around a little bit, gush about its cuteness, snap a few photos, and move on, mom will be back for it.

Garden Update

It’s been an exciting week for the garden! …though not in the best sense.

A hard frost on Sunday night brought temperatures in the mid-twenties to the homestead. Our newly planted tomatoes were covered but were still a little worse for the wear in the morning. After a good watering and some sunshine we had high hopes of their recovery.

Until Tuesday.

Tuesday morning brought a cold rain that rapidly switched over to snow. That’s right, snow. Happy June! Big, fat, wet, clumps (they were much bigger than flakes!) fell all day and well into the night. Thankfully there wasn’t much accumulation and most of the remnants of winter weather were melted off by Thursday. Our tomatoes did not fare so well… their leaves are now brown and crispy, but the peppers and other sprouts survived!

We’ve got zucchini, cucumber, eggplant, basil, and brand spankin’ new tomato starters waiting in the wings. There is just one more bed to fill up with dirt, plant, and we will be well on our way to welcome the growing season… hopefully.

 Happy June from the Homestead!

Birds & Wildlife

Elk at NwC

The elk have returned to the meadow this week, and have calves in now! Each morning and evening as the sun transitions, the lower meadow turns into an ungulate nursery—with growing popularity!

Kestrel

Adam found a Kestrel hiding up in the eaves of the barn this week, puffed up and unhappy—as were the robins that were loudly protesting in close proximity. His conclusion:  He had caught a Kestrel in the act of stealing robin’s eggs.

The Passed Week at Connections

Sarah Lowery

Sarah Lowery joins us at NwC this week! Sarah is a grad student at Yale University and is working toward a MBA and masters in Environmental Management. She’s interning in the Swan for the summer and will be staying at the homestead for short stints during the next few months. Welcome Sarah!

Swan Lands 2008 Photography Contest Winner - Landscape Category

The Swan Lands’ Photo Contest presentation went off without a hitch Thursday night. Jessie Lund has been devoting her heart, and copious amounts of time, to creating a slideshow presentation of nearly 500 submitted images that were taken in the Swan Valley. The presentation turned out beautifully and was received astoundingly by all those in attendance. Good job Jessie! You’re done!

** Friday marked the very first day of restoration work on the Elk Creek Community Forest! After months of planning and assessment, work has finally begun on section 35! Mark Vander Meer of VanWild, along with volunteers from NwC and Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks spent the day constructing exclosures within Elk Creek riparian areas to promote Cottonwood and Aspen regeneration. It’s a first step toward exciting things to come!