The natural world, life, and dogs.
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
Nature's Bounty: Wild Berries Growing up in a suburb of Seattle, picking wild berries in summertime was a normal childhood activity. Mostly we picked blackberries, which grow everywhere in western Washington, so we only had walk to the edges of the neighborhood or a nearby vacant lot to find them. If the family went camping… Continue reading Huckleberries: Yum!
Let me take you along on one of my favorite summertime trail runs through the Payette National Forest. It's early morning, nice and cool, the sun just rising above peaks and ridges to the east, filtering through the tree tops. With Conall leading the way, we'll start at 5,900 feet, climbing upward for some four… Continue reading Nature’s Therapy: Wildflowers
A Tribute to Two Special Dogs I’m perfectly comfortable roaming about the forest without other people. Of course, I almost always have one or both of my dogs with me. Finn and Conall are quiet yet steadfast companions, letting me play inside my head while we’re running, no interruptions, no need to carry on polite… Continue reading The Gift of Confidence
The forest is always teaching me something. I’m provided endless opportunities to see or hear something new, to watch life (and sometimes death) unfold in new ways. By visiting the forest almost daily, year-round, I’m privileged to observe not only the typical, but also the anomaly, the unusual, the transitional and seasonal. I'm intrigued, inspired… Continue reading Grouse Drumming
A Forest Run, July 14, 2019 Lots of wildlife sightings on this morning's run in the forest near home. Quite the morning, sparking some fond - and exhilarating - memories. Hoping to avoid free-roaming cattle and skunks, I drive to a forest access a couple miles north of home. Right out of the car, Conall… Continue reading Wildlife Alerts
Cairns are piles or stacks of stones constructed by humans. We’ve done this over millennia and across continents for a variety of purposes: burial monuments; spiritual ceremonies; marking the location of buried food or objects; way finders; astronomy aids; solstice celebration markers; land boundaries; battle memorials. The word cairn is Gaelic, meaning “heap of stones.”… Continue reading A Heap of Stones
This morning, we saw one. A wolf. In the wild. Running a trail in a remote part of central Idaho’s Payette National Forest in August 2006, my two Malamutes and I were allowed to commune with nature in a way most can only dream of. First, the wolf and Maia exchanged direct looks. Then Meadow… Continue reading The Wolf Visit
(Warning: Long post - book chapter length - because I’ve dealt with several dog-skunk incidents over the years, and because the stories are too funny – after the fact – to keep to myself.) September 2006 – Maia and Meadow at the Flying U Ranch, British Columbia The Flying U Ranch is a dude ranch… Continue reading Skunk!
Wild Sensibility 