Do you know where the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?

Another day of scudding clouds and heavy showers. The hawthorns in full bloom.  A solitary doe has left the small herd of females who inhabit the quiet woodland by the stream. For the last few days she's been foraging alone on the small triangle of wilderness between the freshly ploughed field and the ox track. Home a steep sided cavern of fallen trees, moss covered branches and dark shade. This morning I catch a glimpse of her straining upwards to reach the young shoots on a flowering cherry. She moves with a grace that says this is where she was born, as was her mother, and this is where she'll give birth - later today. Maybe tomorrow. A private fortress held on long lease.