This was first posted September 14, 2009.
When my friends from New Zealand were here not long ago…it made me re-realize the amount of wildlife we take for granted. I mean, I *know* it…but sometimes you just need people to oooohhh and aaaahhhhh over the little mule deer doe in the road to remind you!
You can retreat to this blog for a remote dose of wildlife when you need to forget this morning’s traffic jam guy. You know, the one in the next car over who was picking his nose in rhythm with rap music? Do I paint pretty pictures or what???? Blleech! Make these your desktop background with my compliments!
This young coyote, second cousin twice removed from Charlie, got quite the shock when he ran across the highway in front of me, panicked, and ran into the woven wire fence where he flushed this meadowlark! He quickly recovered and playfully raced alongside me going down the highway.
This kingfisher loves the powerlines over our dam.Here’s when I wish for that bigger lens! OK…I’ll cheat so you can see him better…
Remember I talked of the turkey vultures spreading their wings in the morning sun?? I captured this one the other morning…. Yawn…. Stretch…UHMMMM…. Warm sun!
More elk from a few weeks back…
A whitetail doe and fawn cross the Nowood below our dam. Back in the day, when I worked at the library…I used to keep track of what kind of wildlife I’d see on my 18 mile commute. Deer… antelope… elk… a very rare moose… eagles… hawks… owls… songbirds… porcupines… raccoons… bunnies (smashed and running)… geese… ducks… coyotes… (not Charlie… he lives in a different direction!)…
***Now least you desire to turn in your pink slip and move to the boonies…***
My family has hit *at least* 7 or 8 deer with our vehicles…I admit, 4 of them were mine! That usually means a windshield and quarterpanel replacement… unless you’re me and then throw in the headlights, hood, and the entire side of my brown Jeep.
Try sending your 14 year old child off the first time driving the 18 miles to school praying that she will hear your voice say “DON’T SWERVE… Hit the stupid deer!”. Because, believe me, that little forked horn buck *will* jump out in front of her that first week of driving at 60 mph. People die from swerving away from deer and rolling their cars. The choice is people die or deer die. We choose deer. Pray you never hit an elk or moose. If you like little cars…great on gas mileage…not so good on off road driving…You’d also be surprised what damage a jackrabbit can do! Ask Brandon. Just look at the pretty pictures…. Maybe you can learn to like rap music??? and boogers…
Find me here!
Great pictures! Here in the Los Angeles area we just see possums, raccoons (nasty and mean), squirrels (bushy tailed rats), and coyotes. The latter have killed several cats and at least one dog.
Our older daughter took an extended driving trip back in the day and hit a deer while in Canada. She went into the ditch. Some truckers stopped, threw the deer off the road, and helped her get her car back on the road. Great folks those truckers/Canadians. She was horrified that she’d killed Bambi! The car survived with just a dent. She was lucky.
I agree. I just got to say AHHHH. We had a young bull moose come to visit for a few days. His antlers were shorter than his ears, so maybe a two year old. Got photos. So wonderful to see.
love the pics. Yes we do tend to take the everyday wonders for granted.
hahahahahhahahaha… love the photos.. not so much the word picture stuck in traffic, nose etc..