WILDlife!

Today was rainy, cold, and dreary but made much better by a visit from Alaskan friends Dave and Sophie. They've done the seemingly "normal" Alaskan Pony Club routine of buying a truck (sight unseen) and a new horse trailer (extra long please just to complicate the trip through downtown Seattle) in the Lower 48 and are hauling it home up the AlCan. Sound familiar?



Happily for us they decided to add onto their adventure and take a quick ferry ride to the island to see us. Sophie got to ride one of the barn horses and then she hopped onto Billy for a lesson. She rode Billy beautifully and had a huge smile on her face as she executed gorgeous extensions (yes, in collection!) down the long wall. Over and over I might add. I'm awaiting pictures to post. Billy appreciated the light weight of the teeny tiny rider on his back and worked extra hard to be good for her.



After horse and barn chores were completed and Dave and Sophie off to the returning ferry Thane, Hannah, Tamara and I went on a search for the perfect ice cream sundaes, quickly followed by a tour around the island. Wildlife sightings were the order of the evening; rabid foxes (not really but they are really accustomed to begging at cars for food), attack-deer (really!), and tons of new and as-yet-unidentified-by-us birds.



The deer story is real; we were nearly home when we saw a huge eagle dive into a waist-high-timothy hay field, obviously on the hunt. Milliseconds later a doe galloped down the hill and pounded that unsuspecting eagle with her tiny hooves. After a few minutes there was no attempt by the eagle to rise. We were so amazed at the deer's ferocity that we (well, me, Tamara pushed me out the car door) had to hike down to the area to see if a fawn had also become a victim. The deer bounded away as I got closer (phew!) and I could see all that was left of the eagle. Now that's maternal aggression at it's finest. (Scroll down if you want the photographic evidence.)