The natural world, life, and dogs.
The past month has brought lots of bird activity to my little patch of earth. Most of the through-migrating birds (geese, cranes, many songbirds) have flown by on their way north. Those birds calling this area home - some year round, some just during their breeding season - are engaging in the annual spring rites… Continue reading Birds of a Feather…
I've read that ravens and crows often show appreciation to people who feed them by gifting bright or shiny objects, leaving them where the human(s) will find them. Pretty rocks, buttons, beads, earrings, sticks. My evolving fascination with the raven pair that consider my house, yard and field their territory has led me to do… Continue reading A Gift from the Ravens?
As I type this post, I’m listening to music, streaming through my computer. One song – by Paul Winters – opens with the sound of several Canada geese honking. Normally, such wildlife sounds would be enough to excite Finn, waking him from his nap on a dog bed three feet behind me to jump up… Continue reading Fading into Silence
Baby steps. I'm learning that's what it takes to get ravens to trust me. I'm good with that. I’m growing inordinately fond of the raven pair that have been enjoying the voles Conall catches, along with the occasional marrow bone I toss over the fence after the boys are done with them. I find these… Continue reading Building Trust with Ravens
Among the far-too-many-to-list joys of running through the forest with my dogs off leash is watching them follow their natural curiosity, navigate obstacles, and solve problems. The joke among those of us who choose to live with Alaskan Malamutes is that when we ask them to do something, they look at us, thinking, Maybe. What's… Continue reading Dogged Determination
Living in the mountains, one quickly learns that predicting weather in March is a fool's errand. For several weeks, the swings between winter and spring are wild and seemingly random. Nature teases with warm days of sunshine, melting the long winter's snow pack on the ground and inviting you to step outside without jacket, hat… Continue reading Fool’s Spring
I've been writing a lot about snow lately because it's the dominant feature of my landscape in winter. Far away, on the other side of the globe where sand and ocean are dominant features and the weather far more temperate, live fellow bloggers Micah and Markus. One of the many reasons I love the WordPress… Continue reading From Snow to Sand: Baby Sea Turtles
It has been a long while since Conall caught a vole in the yard, so his food bank for the local raven pair has been bare. I worried that the ravens had given up on us as I hadn't seen or heard them much recently. Now I realize that was mostly due to weather. We've… Continue reading Raven Check-in
The snow just keeps falling. And accumulating. I measured 40 inches (101.6 cm) on the ground this morning, February 17, 2021. Forecast calls for more snow over the next several days. Ullr - the Norse god of snow and patron saint of skiers - sure is delivering this winter. Skiers are happy. My last post… Continue reading Snow and Voles: the Drama Continues
It's snowing, again. I love snow! Even though winter officially started December 21st, and spring arrives March 21st, here in Idaho's mountains winter doesn't gain full steam until January. New snow intermittently drifts down from the sky through March and into April. Locals joke that it always snows on Memorial Day (late May), and it… Continue reading Half-way Through Winter
