Male mountain lion out scent marking in daylight

 At our old place, mountain lions have been out in daylight. In particular, my trail cams have picked up one male and one female. The female is hitting all of the "scrape" sites where male mountain lions leave their scent. I suspect that she's looking for a mate.

This short video shows the male marking in his territory, and then the female approaching the area where he scent marks. There will be a couple more chapters to this story because they seemed to track each other for a while.

I love knowing that these creatures are living out their rich lives in the midst of this increasingly human-dominated world. They go about their lives while remaining invisible almost all of the time. They are like the ghosts of the forest.

The Hachi Chronicle

Nothing makes Hachi happier than playing with his sister.

We camped in very quiet parts of the desert with almost no one else around. This was a "wash" which is like a river bed that fills with water only when there's a flash flood. It has a sandy bottom and goes on for miles. We love to hike in these washes.

On a dry day, it's a perfect place for the pups to play as we walk.

Hachi is transformed by play whether it's with us humans or with Shyla. He gets loose and goofy. Nothing fazes him while plays.

I began playing with Hachi almost a year ago. It continues to be a daily thing. As soon as we wake up, we humans play with Hachi for 10 or 15 minutes. He rolls on his back and acts like a silly puppy. It's so much fun!

Life is still pretty frantic around here but it feels like Hachi is settling into Labrador Valley. It's a place that soothes all of our souls - but it makes Hachi the happiest of all of us. It's a place where he can run and play just like he did in the desert.

I think that we're getting back on track.

Black Dog Sunday

Our Black Dog lived each day as if he knew that you don't get days back just because life hasn't gone perfectly.

Back in the fall of 2018, he had to have an eye removed due to glaucoma. His surgeon gave us permission to take him camping in the desert just a couple of weeks later. We were amazed by his exuberance on that trip. He sprinted across the top of Shyla's Mesa on our first day there.

He raced with his sister as if his vision was still perfect.

His refusal to be dragged down by the hurdles that life threw in front of him was inspiring. His joyful approach to life can perhaps guide us all in this moment of crisis due to the pandemic. There are no "do-overs" in the journey of life. Our Black Dog would say to try to find joy in each of these days despite the hardships that we all face.

Happy Black Dog Sunday

Shyla Saturday

While we were in the desert, the sky turned brilliant shades of yellow, orange, purple and blue at dusk, even when there were no clouds in the sky.

My best friend, Shyla, was more than happy to pose for me with that vivid sky behind her. She did it despite the fact that our photo session delayed her dinner by a few minutes.

This dog is my best friend. Happy Shyla Saturday.

A popular cool spring in early summer

After almost 2 weeks of working so hard on our old house, it's relaxing to sit back and remember this past season at a local spring. This spring either dries up or freezes late every fall and so it's devoid of wildlife from mid-November through April. Then, in May, the pool thaws and new water fills it completely. It becomes a very popular spot for summer and fall.

During May and June, bears dominate the spring but some other species drink from it too. This video includes every animal that triggered the camera during May and June 2020 which makes for fun footage.

Thankful Thursday

I am so very thankful for peaceful time in the desert with our pack.

It was serene with time to gaze at the beautiful desert colors.

Wordless Wednesday - Dancing in the Desert

Psst, Shyla. She's taking our photo. I'm gonna wave!

The Mountain Lions of Labrador Valley

I had about 6 weeks to explore Labrador Valley and the surrounding wilderness before we evacuated, then went out of town for a vacation, and then had to stay away while work was being done on the new house.

During those six weeks at Lab Valley, I searched for spots where mountain lions liked to mark their territory. I found a few spots, some as far away as 3 miles as some as close as 50 yards from the house. This gives me some spots to start searching for their preferred routes. That will let me understand their paths between marking points.

In this video, you'll see big male mountain lions leaving scrapes as they mark their territory. You'll also see a mother mountain lion with a couple of kittens pass by a camera without sniffing the male lion's scrapes. I sure hope that all of these lions survived the fires.

I was so thrilled that I could figure out this much about them in such a short time. 

Enjoy the video!

The Hachi Chronicle

For all the tumult in our lives, Hachi has done remarkably well. On our first day in the desert, it was balmy and warm so Hachi and I played together close to K's Rock. I could see that he was a bit tense but he seemed to loosen up with time.

A winter storm front arrived a few hours later. The temperature plummeted by about 50°F, and it snowed really hard. K's Rock looked totally different by the next morning.

The cliffs along my riding route also looked spectacular with snow on the ground.

By that evening, the snow on the slickrock area near our campsite had melted so the pups could play.
 

Hachi played beautifully with Shyla throughout the trip. He was goofy and happy when they ran around together. However, I wish that I didn't have to report that he lost his cool toward Shyla a few times in our campsite for no obvious reason. Each time, he got in Shyla's face barking aggressively. Shyla reacted to his aggression with total shutdowns. She simply stood rooted in place and did not respond in any way. Shyla has a long history of responding to stress in this way, and it's probably good for defusing aggression from another dog. Within minutes afterwards, she seemed absolutely fine and was willing to play with Hachi when we let them off leash together.

The aggression was upsetting to say the least. However, we both think that Hachi was trigger-stacked by how many parts of his life are unpredictable. The vacation was great for us humans but probably tough on Hachi who was already confused by our move. We've been super careful about keeping them separated inside the house since then. They still play wonderfully outdoors so that's good. Shyla is not afraid of him.

Hachi is a complicated dog. Humans failed his mother and him early in his life by letting his mom be a stray on the streets while pregnant and then raising pups. It's difficult to help him heal from that damage. However, despite the recent setbacks, I think that he's come a million miles since we first met him.

We love our Hachi. We are as devoted to him as he is to us. We will help him through this phase.

Black Dog Sunday

Last year at this time, we were in the desert. I loved playing with our Labraduo atop Shyla's Mesa. They'd howl in harmony with each other.

And they'd cross paws while lying atop the mesa. I've never known a pair of dogs who loved each other as much as these two. Shyla's resilience amazes me.

I felt R's spirit atop the mesa during this past trip. Shyla and I found new ways to play together, which was sad but a step along the way to healing our hearts.
 

As I searched for photos from Shyla's Mesa for today's Black Dog Sunday, music was playing in the background. Suddenly, the words broke through my concentration. It was Mark Knopfler and Emmy Lou Harris singing "If this is goodbye". The words took me backward in time to August 12 as I realized that it was truly goodbye.

Even though it's a sad song, it's beautiful too. There's a great video of them performing it together that you might enjoy checking out.

Our Black Dog's spirit stays close to me all the time. I can feel him smiling at me with his huge hopeful eye whenever I'm out playing with Shyla or Hachi. 

Happy Black Dog Sunday.

Shyla Saturday

Since we've been back, we've been staying at our old place, working hard to clean out the "stuff" that we accumulated over the course of 20 years living in it. We've made huge progress, buoyed with energy from having rested for a couple of weeks. The clean up phase is almost finished and now we need the work on the new place to move forward a similar pace.

 

Aside from all of these details, I think that changing places and the uncertainty of it is tough on the dogs. They aren't sure where we actually live - In the LabMobile? In our old house? Or in our new house?

Shyla has shown the stress by being more easily upset than usual about being alone She expresses her anxiety by barking in an upset tone. I feel badly that she's stressed out. I hope that she can find more calmness when we head back to the new place soon and hopefully settle in for a while. I think that stability will help her.

The dogs have a far more fun life at our new place. They can be off-leash and play together - and the quiet world there calms them both (it calms us humans too!). I am looking forward to getting back to it.

While we were in the desert, my sweet Shyla barked with happiness when we played on top of "Shyla's Mesa" early in the morning. 

I love the desert so much, and I think that sweet Shyla does too!

Nature Friday - More Craziness from the Moose Rut

This fall, the chaos of the moose rut was astounding. It seemed to pervade the forest everywhere. We even heard the sounds of a moose vocalizing from a long distance during a hike. The moose was hidden by the forest but we could hear him!

Every time that I play video of the moose rut, their vocalizations blow my mind. Their voices do not sound like I expect them to. 

Here is a second video from the same pond where my trail cam previously videoed moose rut activity. Be sure to have your sound on and reasonably loud so that you can hear the vocalizations.

Enjoy!

 

Also, join the Nature Friday Blog Hop over at the LLB Gang's Blog.

Thankful Thursday

Every single day - I am thankful for Shyla. She will run to the ends of the earth if I ask her to.  She will play with me endlessly high on desert mesas. She finds joy in every day.

Each year, more of her face goes gray. She began graying early (she started at age 1) because being such a sensitive dog is tiring. I think her face is beautiful.

Shyla is the example of how to love with all your heart. I am so thankful for her.
 

Wordless Wednesday