The natural world, life, and dogs.
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
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
Wild Sensibility 