Don and I were sitting down to dinner on Saturday when our dog, Chance, started bouncing off the sliding glass door. At the bottom of the yard, down the hill next to the woods, a mother deer was standing with a brand new fawn, the youngest I had ever seen, probably born earlier that very day. Its legs were shaky; its back hunched as though there hadn’t been time to stretch from cramped quarters.The mother progressed slowly along the typical route deer take, up the shallow hill and around the house, with their destination being Montauk Downs across the street. The tiny fawn impeded her significantly. Traffic had been heavy on our street due to Memorial Day weekend. Earlier I had to pull Chance repeatedly onto the grassy shoulder because cars were coming fast in both directions.
“I don’t think this is good,” I said to Don. I went outside to the patio under pretense of some quiet puttering. The mother deer stood her ground and stared, while the speckled baby weaved between her legs. Finally, the mother turned and went back into the swamp but the baby stood on splayed legs at the bottom of the hill, small black eyes fixed intently on the first human it had ever seen. Eventually it followed its mother. I went back inside where it was a heck of a lot warmer and dinner waited.
Some may know me as “the bus lady.” I’m frequently found riding the 10C on my way to work. An interesting fellow traveler is Mary Lou Kaler, who stashes her bicycle on the rack before boarding the bus. I recently asked Mary Lou if it had been her I had seen on the cover of the winter edition of On Montauk, a favorite magazine published by Carol and Joe Nye.
I had to ask because the photo had been shot from a distance. The person on the cover was attired in heavy coat, watch cap, braids flying and sitting astride a horse, while leading another horse along a beach. It could have been any horse fancier, but I thought it might be Mary Lou.
“Not your typical mermaid”! Mary Lou chuckled. “Yes, that was me, all right, and thanks for asking”! Mary Lou has asked me to pass along the following request:
“I rescued four Shire horses this spring and I’m working with an equine law firm to establish a sanctuary for them, here in East Hampton. We’re looking at forming a syndicate to support a breeding program. The Shires are an endangered breed that were bred for war in the Middle Ages. I’m taken by this, the largest horse breed’s fluid agility. It’s my desire to keep this band together, train them and provide grass pasture immediately, as they have spent several years in a dirt pen.
Anyone who knows of land I can lease for pasture, please contact the Osborne Law Group, Southampton. The horses came to me neglected. A partnership will allow me to care for them at the level they deserve. Meanwhile, help comes in the form of Neptune Feed & Saddlery, (631) 369-0965, gifting the sanctuary account. For information on the syndicate, I can be reached at seerest1999@gmail.com.
Montauk Moorings wishes Ms. Kaler luck with this worthy endeavor. I’ve seen her out in all kinds of weather, on her way to take care of the horses.
In other news, the East Hampton Clericus is sponsoring a Sacred Peace Walk on Sunday, May 31, from 4 to 5 p.m. The purpose is to publicly declare opposition to those of any faith tradition who spread hatred, violence and killing in the name of God. The walk will begin at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in East Hampton, proceed to St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, and end at the Jewish Center of the Hamptons. For more information, contact pastor Bill Hoffmann at montaukcommunitychurch@gmail.com.
The Montauk Chamber of Commerce is proud to announce the annual Montauk Harbor’s Old-Timer’s Dinner honoring BMCS Jason Walter, officer in charge, who is retiring from the Montauk Coast Guard Station. The event is from 6 to 9 p.m., Wednesday, June 10, at Inlet Seafood Restaurant, 541 East Lake Drive. To learn more about Station Montauk, visit www.uscg.mil/d1/staMontauk.
At The Library
June 1 is the last date the Friends of the Montauk Library are accepting book donations for the Saturday, Sunday, July 4 and 5 Book Fair, to be held at the Montauk Library this year instead of on the Green. Jewelry and yard sale items are still welcome, and should be brought to the front desk during library hours. Volunteers are needed! A sign-up sheet will also be at the library’s front desk.
The final offering of this spring’s free movie series, is “Still Alice,” with Oscar winner Julianne Moore as a linguistics professor who must deal with her diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. Also starring Alec Baldwin and Kristen Stewart, screening is downstairs at the library, Wednesday, May 27, at 7 p.m.
El Mundo de la Guitarra/The World of the Guitar, featuring guest artist, Colombian-born Francisco Roldan on classical guitar, this Sunday, May 31, at 3:30 p.m., downstairs in the Suzanne Koch Gosman Room. Mr. Roldan teaches in New York City and performs throughout the U.S. and Latin America. He has performed at the Montauk Library and other venues on the East End with his quartet, Zigzag, and his trio, Compass.
Saturday, June 6, at 7:30 p.m., the Karkowska Duo, featuring Anna Karkowska, on classical violin and Katarzyna Karkowska, classical piano. The Polish-born Karkowska sisters combine musical virtuosity with tales of their hilarious experiences in America. Graduates of Juilliard and the Chopin Academy, Warsaw, the sisters have recorded for Polish, Mexican and American TV and radio and performed at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall.
For more information on these and other free programs at Montauk Library, call (631) 668-3377, or visit www.montauklibrary.org.
Staff Writer on May 26, 2015