The natural world, life, and dogs.
I’m in the yard with the dogs, moving a sprinkler and shoveling dog shit over the fence into the field, typical evening chores. Suddenly both boys rush toward the fence at the edge of the yard near the front door, noses to the ground, pouncing. Conall pulls back with that look on his face I’ve… Continue reading Bird Encounters, Part II – July 3-4, 2018
After a weekend of rain and storms, the summer sun returns and I’m enjoying a glass of wine on the deck. Toward sunset, as the boys gnaw on bones in the yard, there's a scuffle between the tree swallows nesting in the box on the fence and a larger bird. Shielding my eyes against the… Continue reading Bird Encounters, Part I – July 11, 2016
“It’s opener there in the wide, open air.” ~Dr. Seuss July 11, 2016 was an odd and oddly fantastic day for wildlife encounters. The boys and I find fresh snow awaiting us as we start our run on Brundage mountain. Not just a dusting of hail that hasn't melted yet, but snow. Slippery and slushy,… Continue reading Stephen King Deer
The old man walks every day, averaging five or more miles, every season, except when the weather is really bad. He doesn’t walk in the rain. The old man walks in winter of 2017-18, faithful dog at his heels. A little dog – a mini-Aussie – is his steadfast companion. She stays at his heels.… Continue reading An Old Man and His Dog
I spend a lot of time in the forest with just my dogs for companionship. We're out there most mornings, all seasons, for at least an hour, sometimes up to three hours. It's how we begin each day. Sometimes a human friend joins us, but that's rare. A true introvert, I enjoy my solitude and… Continue reading Bored? Hardly.
Bear Basin is part of the Payette National Forest. Near town, in summer its network of single-track trails through tall firs and pines is popular with runners, mountain bikers and walkers. Dogs can be off leash. It’s also a great place for huckleberry picking. In winter, there are groomed, dog-friendly cross country ski trails. It’s… Continue reading An Unwilling Eavesdropper
Several bugs, actually. And like you or I catching a bug – a cold, the flu – the forest in many places is looking and feeling sick, many trees with brown needles, or branches devoid of needles altogether. The photo above was taken August 4, 2019 in the Payette National Forest, looking west through and… Continue reading The Forest Has Caught a Bug
An Abundance of Wildlife Encounters during a Mountain Run on July 29, 2019 Conall was on edge during our forest hike yesterday (Good Sense, posted 7-29-19, a day later). This morning I took him running on trails we visit frequently at a nearby skiing and mountain biking resort. Finn stayed home because I wanted to… Continue reading Like Being in a Nature Film
A Hike in the Forest, July 28, 2019 A nice, mellow hike with the dogs on Six Mile Creek, a trail we rarely visit. That was the morning’s plan. Why don't we use this national forest trail more often? It's not far from home and is on the morning-shade side of a mountain slope, under… Continue reading Good Sense
Tail nubbins: the docked (also called bobbed) tails of certain breeds of dog. Usually done to meet breed standards or for “cosmetic” reasons. Controversial (obviously). Other animals, wild and domesticated - such as deer, elk, llamas and alpacas - have naturally short tails, which I also refer to as nubbins. A typical view for me… Continue reading Tail Nubbins
Wild Sensibility 