By Bob Spiwak
Here we are, two days after the solstice. There were some monster winds that longest-day evening, and as if in shame for the tumultuous tantrum, Sunday brought a calm and very warm day. The mosquitoes, previously barely noticeable, rejoiced in the calm and decided it was time for a celebratory dinner. On us.
And speaking of celebrations, Christmas is a mere six months away.
That the days are getting shorter just when the weather tends to be salubrious just does not seem fair.
Looking to the future, news we garnered from Mary Milka at the Mazama Country Inn will be the past when you read this.
The Redmond Cycle Club, 55 strong, celebrated its 30th anniversary with a bike ride that brought them to the inn. It may have been a long pedal for some.
Concurrently, there was a different group that was in the area for the Hop Rendezvous, another bicycle extravaganza. This may be a reincarnation of a similar bicycle outing in the past called Octoberfest. This event is statewide with cyclers gathering in various small brewery locations.
And there is more. This coming week, some real hard-core pedal-pumpers called The Randoneers will be arriving from Ephrata in a competitive timed event that will terminate at the Mazama County Inn. According to Ms. Milka, who manages the place, the competitors will be lodging at the inn and the breakfast crew working the buffet will begin serving breakfast at 3:30 a.m. Tuesday — 0330! They’ll continue until the last rider comes in. The club visits the inn every year.
On a less strenuous note, albeit more cerebral and patient, Marc Rea is now back in town giving lessons on horsemanship, via the Parelli Method, where the rider theoretically learns more than the horse. This is not a pass-fail class.
And on the subject of four-legged critters, a cautionary note: The deer are still with tiny fawns. Doug Devin said that while cutting hay recently, he almost encountered a baby lying motionless in the field. As many of us know, the does are rather testy at this time, to the extent that they may charge dogs and people and inflict some serious injury on both humans and animals.
From stories we have gleaned this year, among them is that of Mary Sharman, whose dog Ben was charged by a mother deer, with no fawn in sight. So just a precautionary note that at this time of year, be alert for deer in the woods or fields, such as Big Valley Ranch. I had this experience with a dog that came across a fawn as we walked the woods across the road. The fawn began mewing, and I called the dog and put us both into reverse. Here came mom. The dog took off like a gut-shot goose and the doe ran by me at less than 10 feet away, glanced sideways as she went past, never breaking stride, determined to smite the dog with her sharp hooves. Had I not yelled as she passed, it might have been I that was smitten.
