Bobcats

Bobcats seem to be following in my tracks. First, one walked in front of a remote trail camera shortly after I'd visited it to change its memory card.

Then, very early this morning, a mountain cottontail rabbit fled as a bobcat arrived on the scene.

The bobcat didn't start by going toward where this rabbit had just hopped away. Rather, the cat went under our bear-proof birdfeeding station, which hangs high above this photo at the top of the metal pole. Initially, the bobcat crouched and slinked, as if he had spotted prey. Notice that this bobcat is shaped more like a kitten than the first more lanky one.

Then, he moved fast and low to the ground, passing behind the birdfeeder pole.

Finally, he stopped, looking or sniffing something unknown to me.

He patrolled our property for about 7 minutes before walking past the same camera as the bunny hopped past when the bobcat arrived.

This morning, when K and I started our little walk, she told me that someone interesting had visited overnight with her excited body language and sniffing. We walked to a spectacular aspen grove. It's funny - after the past two days, K has decided that I always want her to peek at me from among aspen leaves. She found an appropriate spot. It's fun having a canine friend who is so sensitive to what I like.

After meandering through that aspen grove, we wandered among pine trees on our property. The sun still lazily hung low in the sky but a shaft of sunlight found K.

Aside from our walks, K and I are still playing lots of training games, including "identify the toy". She's doing amazingly well with that game except if there's a ball among her choices. She always picks out the ball, regardless of what I say! Another fun activity for K is that she and her brother play, usually with K lying down and R dancing around her. I had to end the game shown below because I can't let K jump around and play. She needs to lie still while playing!

After taking care of K this morning, I went on a long and wandering mountain bike ride. I've had this notion that I could figure out how to connect two fun trails without going on any roads. After consulting maps, Google Earth, and a friend, I was ready to try this morning. It's amazing to live in a place with so much open space that routes exist that people rarely travel.

I passed through unmarked and unknown areas with vast granite walls and open meadows of dry grass. Sometimes I was on slightly trodden paths, and, at other times, I was technically lost because I didn't know where the path had gone. In my wandering, I came upon two hulking mule deer bucks who split up when they spotted me. One kindly posed for the camera - he's a much bigger buck than I've seen near my house where the population is more heavily hunted.

At one point, I muttered, "it's time to turn around" because I hadn't seen any sign of a path in 15 minutes. Then, I changed my mind and pedaled a little further. Voila - the yellow brick road! It took me where I wanted to go without seeing a sign of another person. I love it when my wanderings lead somewhere. I think this route may become a regular one for me.

Then, I connected to a path that I've ridden before, and I almost skidded when I saw the size of the very fresh bear scat in the middle of the trail. It was filled with bird food mix... so this bear had raided someone's accessible feeder very recently. It's not surprising since natural bear foods are almost impossible to find in our forest these days. I think that some bears are hiking up from lower elevations to den up here where snow will hide and insulate them later in the winter.

From that path, I caught a stunning view. I will never take my world for granted.

And, I rode past aspens still wearing their autumn finery.

At the end of the day, I took the Duo for a short walk within K's range. Then, R and I scampered up to see the sun set. As I gazed at the stunning sunset, an elk bugled. It was so out-of-place that I halted in my tracks... but then I knew for sure what I'd heard. It must be that big bull elk who I captured on my trail camera recently. Although he's not up in the alpine zone participating in the herd's rutting ritual, his hormones are still telling him to make that ethereal high pitched bugle.