Hodgepodge 203/365 - Wildlife Sightings

The view from the end of the long
winding road, overlooking the Pacific.

We spent the afternoon and evening in Bonny Doon, in the Santa Cruz Mountains, visiting with family: David's brother, Geoff, and his wife, Heidi, are here briefly from Norway, visiting Geoff's son, Aaron, his wife, Ruby, and their seven-year-old son, Felix. Also living on or near the big property at the end of a long winding road are Ruby's father, Ted, and mother, Marsha, as well as Marsha's second husband, Jim. (It's actually Jim's property.) They're all one big happy family—in true fact. We all got together and had a fine time.

It was especially pleasant to dine outside overlooking the Pacific and the brand-new Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument (which I expect at least a few of the aforementioned would not be unhappy to see get demonumentalized in the current "review" of the Antiquities Act and of recently named national monuments—they kind of like having it to themselves, so to speak).

A rattler I had a very close
encounter with several years ago:
so beautiful.

As Ruby collected some beets and greens from the garden for our dinner, a snake showed itself. Turned out it was a young rattler—three of us saw the rattle—and there was immediate talk of murder. But while Ruby took off to find the shovel, it slowly slithered into a hole and managed to escape. I was secretly cheering it on, although of course, of course, rattlers are dangerous and can bite. Though I think the chances are slim, especially if one is aware that a rattler is around and is careful. And as someone pointed out, seeing only one doesn't mean there aren't twenty more lying about: killing the one doesn't necessarily make one safe. Me, I'm always thrilled—while keeping my distance—to see a rattler.

Then, after dinner as we drove along the road that leads off the mountain, down into a redwood-studded canyon, what did we flush from the roadside but a fox! It scampered down the narrow road in front of us for quite a ways, finally veering off to the right, its brown brush of a tail the last of it we saw.

Two unusual sightings in one day!

We also had a lovely walk along a creek decorated with foxglove (digitalis), little yellow violas, calla lilies, little white popcorn flowers—with swimming for all, including Milo.

All in all, a grand day.