The natural world, life, and dogs.
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 confess, I'm easily entertained. Especially by dogs and their close relatives: wolves, coyotes and foxes. They fascinate me. I recently wrote about a fox who visits regularly, hunting for voles in my field, irritating Conall. I also wrote about the budding symbiotic relationship between a local raven pair and Conall's voles, left in the… Continue reading Wild Conversations
Starting with his earliest forays into the forest near home as a puppy, Conall has had the ability to follow his nose to animal bones left on the ground. Some bones appear in the normal course of life, after animals die from natural causes or as a predator's meal. Other bones appear after hunters kill… Continue reading Who Stole My Treasure?
Friday, July 10, 2020. I awoke at 6:30 am to the sound of birds singing, ushering in the day along with the rising sun. I looked outside. Clear skies. A thunderstorm had moved through overnight, waking me up, dropping a bit of rain, but by daybreak the weather was perfect. On Monday, Tuesday and Thursday,… Continue reading The Day I Lost – and Found – Conall
Spring officially ends June 19th this year. It's always a little sad saying goodbye, watching nature's exuberant bursts of growth and color wane during the hotter and drier months of summer. Where I live, at 4,000 feet in the mountains of central Idaho, spring starts arriving in April and doesn't really gain steam until May… Continue reading So Long, Spring, ‘Till Next Time
It was a déjà vu kind of morning. I was following the boys along an old Forest Service road, a couple inches of fresh wet snow on top of the ice, snow and slush mix left from the last snowfall a few days ago. We were walking an out-and-back route near home. Early on Conall… Continue reading Same As it Ever Was
Alrighty! Today I took a nap. I got my procrasticleaning done (vacuuming dog hair off the floors, washing dog blankets, skipping the dusting because I hate dusting even more than vacuuming). I edited photos from this morning's walk with my dogs (some included here). I read some great blog posts. Now what? A long evening… Continue reading Ignore the Rules
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 