In Search of Fawn Lilies

While Seattle neighborhoods follow the trail of the Urban Phantom on the front pages of the Seattle Times (as of last night 14 of Seattle's finest were in hot pursuit) I go in search of a very different beast in the meadows of Cougar Mountain. While in England last week my mother mentioned that when we lived in Eugene near Lorane Highway in the early 60s the hillside across the street was covered in fawn lilies.

I stumbled upon a handful of them yesterday while taking the dog for her daily walk. We have none other than Penny Manning to thank for these beauties.

Penny is an eastside hero--daughter of legendary Harvey Manning--and the restorer of Ballpark Meadow where the miners on Coal Creek played their games and picnicked with their sweethearts.

I should add that this is one of the few ballparks I visit on a regular basis...I'm more of a soccer fan.



Mom, who has a doctorate in history, also liked to tell the story of camas and its tuber-like bulb. Because it was a staple of the Nez Perce Indian diet the tribe starved when the early settlers set their pigs to eating all the available supply.

Meanwhile, according to The Seattle Times this morning "State Dept of Fish and Wildlife Sgt. Kim Chandler said he hoped the bear would keep heading north then east to the Cascades, 'where bears belong.'" Bring him on!