Wordless Wednesday

Mama Bear and her Cubs

 Our young sow, Mohawk, has been leading her first litter of cubs throughout the heart of her territory. After a bath down the slope, she and her cubs appeared on Black Bear Trail.

Her cubs are growing so fast! It seems as if they've almost doubled in size since we first saw them more than a month ago. In this photo, Mohawk is looking for ant pupae under a rock. When you see this scene in the video, watch her tongue flick out as she ate a little from under the rock.

Just the next day, mom went to her favorite water hole. Her cubs hung out nearby playing. Here, Brownie had a heart-to-heart with her mom.

Meanwhile, Blackie climbed a marking tree and relaxed on a branch near the top of it.

What an amazing opportunity for us - having a sow raising cubs in the heart of the territory where I have cams. I hope that more bear food is ready for eating soon. I happen to know that Mohawk led her cubs close to houses the other night looking for food. That's not good - I really hope that this first-time mother can feast on real bear food soon.

Check out the video!

The Hachi Chronicle

Hachi's week was up and down. The vast majority of the time was happy.

When I take him for short outings to the meadow, he behaves super well. His recall is strong, just as long as nothing has put him over threshold in terms of fear. He's so affectionate, giving me kisses whenever he gets a chance.

This is the way he starts his recalls - bursting into action as hard as he possibly can.

In terms of training, he's become completely comfortable in his muzzle. He'll hang out for 15 minutes at a time wearing it without trying to get it off. He's also doing really well with his counterconditioning to R, in which he gets treats whenever R appears. He is perhaps doing the very best at learning to watch strangers going by in town. As long as the people keep their distance, Hachi is happy to observe them.


We met with his behavioral vet and trainer. They decided that we should increase Hachi's meds to try to help him relax even more. We doubled his Reconcile (doggy version of Prozac) and we'll be experimenting with higher doses of his short-acting anti-anxiety drug.

On the down side of this week, Hachi had an incident with R. Hachi was wearing his muzzle in a super relaxed way while separated from the Duo. We decided to let him out into the area where the Duo was, and Hachi immediately went after R aggressively. He was wearing a muzzle so he didn't hurt anyone.

I made some mistakes that might have led to that incident, like having been giving Hachi treats prior to letting him be with the Duo. That means that it may have been a case of resource guarding. We plan to try this again but without having any treats in the picture. I was upset about Hachi's attack during our first try at having him be with the Duo while wearing a muzzle because the muzzle is our biggest hope for making it possible for all three dogs to be together.

The rehabilitation of Hachi is a roller coaster ride. Each week, there are ups and downs. We both feel as if there is more up than down in terms of overall progress over the past 6 weeks or so. I hope that we're right. Hachi is such a sweet soul with us humans - and we desperately want to be able to integrate him into the family.

Black Dog Sunday

Our Black Dog is one of the most innocent animals I've known. He expects that treats will fall from the sky and that everyone, humans and dogs alike, will be nice. As he walks down a street in town, he tries to catch everyone's eye,  hoping to entice them to meet him. We call him the "biggest flirt" we've ever seen.

This innocence and complete optimism makes him expect a lot out of life. For example, I take him for an extra outing by himself some days. Ever since I started doing that, he seems to expect it every single day. So, I feel guilty when I must say "no, not today" on occasion. He forgives me in seconds.

His attitude toward life is a wonderful injection of optimism and joy to my life. Life isn't easy, as you all know. Twenty minutes in the meadow with R can bring a smile to my face no matter what!

 Happy Black Dog Sunday!

Silly Saturday with Shyla

First, the more serious portrait of Shyla in an aspen grove full of Columbines.

 And this one with her paws up!

Even on a day with a roaring migraine, Shyla can make me smile. Happy Silly Saturday!

Nature's Feline Kittens: Bobcats and Mountain Lions

It is the season of juvenile animals in the forest. In the course of a few days, I found footage of baby bobcats and teenage mountain lions in the forest.

The bobcats were, by far, the youngest ones that I've ever seen. I suspect that their mother was moving them from one den to another. They definitely are too young to be out and about with her yet. In this photo, there are two kittens, one under her front legs and one under her hind legs.

When I first saw the video of the bobcat kittens, I thought that they were puppies because they were so little.

They traveled only a short distance on the animal trail, and then they must have gone to a new den.

Around the same time, the two kittens from the mountain lion family we've been following were exploring together around mid-morning. When they arrived by my cam, one stopped in front of it. You can see the faded spots on his neck and shoulder.

He's incredibly handsome...

Then, his sibling arrived, and the two of them sniffed a lion marking area in front of the cam. I'd never noticed how lion kitten tails are banded, with stripes above the black tip.

Daytime sightings like this one are wonderful!

I have a short video of the bobcat and mountain lion kittens. Enjoy!

Thanks to the LLB Gang for Hosting Nature Friday and to Comedy Plus for hosting Feline Friday.

Thankful Thursday - For Shyla!

Each and every day, I am thankful for the time that I have with sweet Shyla out in nature. She is the best romping buddy that I could ask for. She is so enthusiastic!

I love playing "snarf the treat" with Shyla. She is so intense about snagging the the treat out of the air. Her eyes make me smile!

Shyla makes every single day brighter for me.

Thanks to Brian for hosting the Thankful Thursday blog hop!

Wordless Wednesday - Siblings

Outside a Coyote Den

As Shyla and I rode through a meadow one morning, she was in the position that I want her in - next to my rear wheel. Suddenly, she yelped. I can't turn my head very far due to my fused neck bones so I had to hop off my bike to see what had happened.

I was shocked to see an adult coyote directly next to her - close enough to touch her. I instinctively yelled at him. He didn't react. So, I yelled, raised my hands over my head, and ran straight at him. That got his attention, and he began to run away.

As I watched him cagily trot away, I saw a group of coyotes up the hill in the trees. Due to my worry about Shyla, I didn't notice whether they were adults or pups. Soon, they all disappeared. Meanwhile, Shyla had been standing next to me... just standing there. She didn't defend herself or even think about chasing the coyotes. For once, her fearfulness was a big asset because chasing a lone coyote into a group is very dangerous for a dog.

After the coyotes disappeared, I checked her over very carefully. No wounds or injuries. Either the coyote nipped her lightly or he startled her, causing her to yelp.

When I talked with neighbors, I learned that one had spotted coyote pups earlier that morning near where Shyla and I had encountered them. I suspect that the pack had moved their den overnight.

Some of you probably have already guessed what I did next. Yes, a trail cam... This was the first sighting of pups by the cam.

Based on video captured by the trail cam, I know that there are at least five pups.

I compiled the clips into a video for you. Be sure to watch to the end. In the one night clip near the end, it's fun to watch the interactions between the adult and the pups. The behavior really reminds me of dogs.

This is a new situation for me - my first coyote den!

The Hachi Chronicle

Hachi had a fun week, playing in the yellow flowers with me or with his siblings.

When I play with him, he melts my heart by showering me with kisses at the end of every recall. He makes me laugh and laugh.

Prior to this week, he seemed a bit subdued or worried when I took him out into the meadow without his siblings. This week, he seemed much happier. He was truly a goofy puppy as he ran through the flowers.

In terms of training, we worked on three things this week, all designed to help him with his "issues". First, we are working on helping Hachi be comfortable wearing a muzzle. Wearing a muzzle will be the first step in having Hachi be loose in the house with the Duo. At this point, he can wear it for a couple of minutes without pawing at it. He can respond to verbal cues while wearing it and walk on a leash for about 30' while wearing it. The second thing is teaching him that R getting a treat always means that he will get a small jackpot of treats - to condition him not to resource guard. And the third is something called "engage/disengage", which involves him learning to first look at and then look away from things that scare him. That helps him not to get obsessed with scary things.

And, of course, we "worked" on him playing with his siblings outdoors. That is simply wonderful.

It was a good week with solid progress forward and lots of fun!

Black Dog Sunday - In a Sea of Gold

I had a wonderful week in the yellow flowers with each of our dogs, including our Black Dog. Getting to the yellow flowers turned into a bit of an adventure though, when our local coyote pack decided to move their den onto our path. I'll spare you the stories about them for now but there will be coyote pup videos coming up!

Our Black Dog is the easiest to pilot through the coyote zone and into the sea of gold. One day, before I changed my route, a coyote pup sprinted across our path... which our Black Dog did not see due to his near-blindness. The younger dogs would have had fits if a coyote pup had tried that same thing near them!

But, we made it to the meadow of yellow flowers. I was so thankful. We had such fun playing there.

Despite the attack on his vision by glaucoma, he loves romping through the meadow. The pressure in his remaining eye has remained very low due to the eye drops that he gets twice daily. However, the vision in that eye has definitely dwindled. The amazing thing is that our Black Dog doesn't seem bothered. He's as happy as ever.

He has mellowed just a tiny bit with age, and I love that soft edge around the highest drive dog who I've ever known. I used to be able to handle him only in small doses because he was so insanely driven about whatever caught his fancy on that particular day. Now, we can lie in the flowers and play, and he seems absolutely content.

Look how bright eyed and happy he looks. This is a wonderful phase of life for him, despite all of the physical challenges that he's faced. I enjoy every moment that I get with him, one-on-one. He's so loyal and sweet.

Happy Black Dog Sunday!

Adventures of a Young Sow and her Cubs

Our local bear family - mom, a black cub, and a brown cub - was near my cams again recently. First, the black cub appeared all by himself. He's been on camera a number of times now. He is definitely the bolder of the two cubs!

In contrast, the more timid brown cub stays near mom. In this photo, "Brownie" is running down the hill to look for his sibling. You can see mom up above him.

Eventually, Blackie galloped up the hill to chase down his family.

It's rare that we get a view a fairly wide area to watch the whole family at once. I enjoyed seeing it.

Then, one week later, mom led the family to a water hole so that she could take a bath. She carefully cleaned her face, again and again. She was so blissed out by her bath that she seemed to forget about her cubs.

When her long bath (4 minutes!) was over, she went to look for the cubs. She had to look for a while. In this photo, she is looking directly down the slope where the cubs eventually emerged.

Mom exited to the right of this view. (As an aside, I now recognize this sow. Her name is "Mohawk", and this is her first litter of cubs that I know of. She's a young bear.)

After Mohowk was out of sight, her cubs filed up the hill. The cubs didn't seem to find her immediately. They sprinted back and forth a few times but I am sure that they found her.

I put together a video of this family during these adventures which I hope that you enjoy. I find baby animals to be the most fun to watch!

Thankful Thursday - Our World's Natural Beauty

Last year, the high mountains melted out early, and we took an early July camping trip to a spot at about 10,000' elevation in Colorado. This year, there is a deep layer of snow still covering the alpine zone. Most places at 10K' elevation are predicted to be impassable until late July!

Last year, during our July trip, I repeatedly thought that there were more red and blue wildflowers than I'd ever seen. I thought that they'd be perfect for celebrating U.S. Independence Day.

As I've looked back at the photos, I am reminded of the song "America The Beautiful".

It was the most flowery campsite that we've ever stayed in.

Happy US Independence Day.

On this Thankful Thursday, I am filled with gratitude for how the natural world's beauty lifts my spirits almost daily. I feel so lucky to live in a world of mountain beauty.

Thanks to Brian for hosting the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.

Wordless Wednesday