A toy brings out the inner dog.

Wolf plays.

Gray-Wolf Reunion

Brookfield Zoo, December 1975. The Endangered Species Act protected gray wolves; then, the zoo was one of the few places to see them.

Pack Reunion

Brookfield Zoo, January 1970. It was not uncommon for zoos to keep wolves.

Stay vigilant.

Another gun-deer season ends. Things look safer, but there are plenty of other predators:

Ontario, Canada, July 1965. This image is from the roadside taxidermy exhibit.

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I was so proud of this photo that I gave it as a gift to my Mom.

I thought they were carnivores.

Wolves eat watermelons.

A Tour of Vilnius

"Vilnius is the modern European city with a remarkable old town and friendly people."

Friendly people. Just remember not to bare your teeth.

Melancholy

Door County, Wisconsin, January 1978. Many things in this photo make me feel nostalgic.

The Howling Wolf

Lithuanian legend maintains that an iron wolf howled in Grand Duke Gediminas's dream. An interpreter told the Grand Duke the dream was a sign that Gediminas should build a castle on a hill, and that a great city would arise around the site. The city grew into Lithuania's capital, Vilnius.

Wolf imagery remains ubiquitous in Lithuania. Here, a howling wolf guards the entryway to a beauty salon ("dalės salonas"):

Lithuania, August 2011. The door-stop wolf is a typical example of folk-art woodcarving.

Thanks to my Toronto Cousin for making this photo available to us.

Roadside Attractions

On our way from Toronto to Lake Nipissing, Ontario, we stopped at an "Esso" gas station that featured a taxidermy display of local wildlife:

Ontario, Canada, July 1965. Dad checks out the fighting wolves.

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Ontario, Canada, July 1965. Dad also stops to see the bear and her cub.

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Ontario, Canada, July 1965. No visit to northern Ontario is complete without a moose sighting. That's our gold Buick in the background.

Wolf Path

Before my maternal Grandparents, Jake and Jadzė, built the house in Kaunas, the family lived in the Soldiers' Quarters in the city of Panemunė. My Mom used to walk to and from school. The path leading to her family's apartment went through a small, forested area. Mom describes the area as being pretty cultivated—on one side of the path grew tree roses, and on the other side, Wisteria. She recalls, however, that her father Jake admonished her to walk quickly through the path because wolves frequented it.

See what you think. Was the danger-of-wolves story a real threat, or was it a way to prompt Mom to bolt home more quickly?

Panemunė, Lithuania, 1930. This is the "wolf path" leading to the Soldiers' Quarters. My Mom's family had an apartment in the building at the end of the path.