Message from the Mountain

September 2026 / Issue #27

Hide and Seek

It is slowly becoming that time of year when the fawns are big enough to fend for themselves and become braver to be seen in public. It is amazing to watch them go from little butterballs on the ground, hidden by tall grass and curled up like cats in a cat bun, to little Bambi-esque creatures, trying so hard to look suave and non-awkward.

Eventually, these cute little devils will learn to play chicken with cars, as part of a culling of the herd ritual, or at least it seems that way. For now though, they are pretty harmless. I often wondered about the spots that they carry and what they mean. So I scoured the interwebs to share this morcel of information with you.

Fawns have white spots to hide from predators by blending into dappled sunlight and shadows on the forest floor. Because young deer cannot outrun danger, they stay completely still while their spotted coat and lack of scent keep them hidden. They lose these protective spots after three to four months as they grow larger and develop their adult winter coats. Pretty cool information isn't it? I suppose that we should enjoy it while it lasts, spots and all. Pretty soon, they will be all grown up and heading off to deer college.

Lighting Strikes Again

By Jeffrey Pryor

I was watching this storm roll in across the mountains and the lighting was reminiscent of some battles that I read about, from the Second World War. It is difficult to capture these moments in time, but when you do, it is pretty darned rewarding. I could see the lightining, but not hear it. It reminded me of when my mother told me about heat lightning.

She stated, "Heat lightning is the light from a distant thunderstorm that is so far away, you can't hear the thunder." I thought that was a good description, even though I pondered that it was deeper than that. I remember flying to a deployment site one time, way above the clouds and in the dark. I could see the lightning below, but ironically it looked like flak being sent up toward our big slow military transport plane. I have always thought that was one of the coolest things I have ever witnessed. No photos of that exist for me, just vivid memories. I hope that one day soon, I can share the "Heat Lightining" with others, while Making Nature Accessible. Thanks for reading.