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Friday, June 14, 2013

See Beautiful: Dogs, Sunsets, Flowers, and Bears

As many of you know, I find incredible beauty in my dogs and in nature. For "See Beautiful", I'll share a few of the beautiful things that I've witnessed recently, from my Duo at sunset, to wildflowers, to natural bear behavior. I know that many people are afraid of bears - but I find them to be the most beautiful souls among our wildlife.

The two pups and I enjoyed a sunset hike recently, bathing in the soft sunlight at the end of the day. They both looked equally enthralled with a scent near the start of the hike.
Then, Shyla told R a secret. I'm not sure what it was but R had a mischievous look in his eyes.
We made it to our sunset lookout point in time to see the sun barely dip below the Divide.
And, then, the sun slipped lower, and the light faded as the Rocky Mountains blocked it.
On top of the smoke in the air from the horrific fire south of us, our pine trees have decided to release their pollen, right now! When I look into the distance, I can literally see waves of green pollen blowing off the trees. If I touch a tree, I get fine green particles all over me. It affects me mildly, giving me a sore throat and some asthma. R is our worst allergy sufferer. He gets itchy all over and can get secondary infections from skin, ear, and eye irritation. He's on his allergy meds now, and they seem to be working so far, even though I can see a layer of pollen stuck to his outer fur.

Tis the season! I won't complain. We have glorious flowers and wonderful cooler weather. Here's a close-up of an Iris petal - like a landing strip for pollinating insects!
And, my favorite animals, the black bears, are delighting me with their antics. They are marking trees, and the mother and her single cub are playing in front of my cameras. It will be interesting to see what happens with that mother because, sometimes, nursing one cub is not enough to prevent a bear sow from going into estrus. Then, odd scenarios occur - some sad and some interesting. In the best case scenario, the mother will mate but also stay with her cub from this year. So far, although the mother has been on the "mating route" where the marking trees are, she hasn't expressed interest in them.

Here's a video that includes both tree-marking and the mother-cub pair playing in a ditch filled with water. I'm discovering that this ditch is very popular, and I repositioned the camera so that future videos will be looking down at the water from a high view.

You can watch the video here or at Youtube.


On the bear front, one thing is worrying me. Our main male, Milton, has had a serious limp for almost 2 months. I haven't captured a trail camera photo of him in about two weeks, which is unprecedented during bear mating season. I am concerned that he might have been supplanted by the big male who you saw in the video. To be honest, I'm a little concerned about whether Milton is still alive. I'll be watching my cameras for a glimpse of him.

Bear foods are progressing too. These are chokecherry blossoms, which will turn into berries after they are pollinated. They are a favorite food of bears!
I hope that you've seen the summertime beauty in this post that I feel. I am awed by the gorgeous world around me.

This is part of the See Beautiful Blog Hop, sponsored by our friend Sugar.

20 comments:

  1. You've shared your awe wonderfully - as usual :-)

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  2. We always see the light and shade beautiful.

    XXXOOO Daisy, Bella & Roxy

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  3. Your photos are especially beautiful today - every single one of them. We too hope the bear is OK.

    And maybe Shyla was telling R how happy she is to have him for her big brother:)

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  4. Beautiful dogs and bears and flowers. Thanks for sharing, KB.
    Melon

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  5. I am totally wonderous at the video of the mom and cub playing in the water.
    What a happy post so worthy of See Beautiful Friday

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  6. Your pictured are so beautiful, and the video was awesome! But that first picture was stunning!

    I hope Milton is ok, it must be hard not knowing what happened, I would want to help him in some way.

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  7. The baby running right up to the camera for his closeup at the end was priceless!

    Question: How do you find the bear trees? We have black bear by our family vacation home and while I've found bear scat, and one bear came knocking at the windows one summer, I've never spotted any trees where they have been rubbing. Is there a particular place they like them to be?

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  8. Oh love love Shyla telling R some secret. From his face it looks like a funny one. And wow the Bears cooling off. Beautiful from the Momma butt wiggle to the little one almost leaping into the camera. Thank you KB, it was all so stunning.
    Blessings,
    Goose

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  9. I tend to think of every day as a See Beautiful post on your blog, because you're so good at capturing the beauty you see around you. Your pictures today are fantastic, but I knew they would be! :)

    Do you have any guess as to how old Milton is? Hopefully he shows up! I love the cub photobomb at the end! Just like a kid!

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  10. We love the first photo of R and Shyla as they are showered by the rays of the sun. Thanks KB for always taking beautiful photos. It's always a good read whenever we see your posts. Happy weekend!

    Love,
    Piappies Fudgie, Princess, Frappie, Mocha, Sugar, Wai-Max, Wai-Pai & Forgie

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  11. Houndstooth said it best: Every day is See Beautiful for you and your blog! I can't believe your wildlife videos. They are truly remarkable. Our pines were done with the pollen about a month ago but it's quite a mess while it's going on. I'm going to worry about Milton now- I really hope he's ok. Sadly it's nature's way sometimes for the bigger stronger male to push an injured one out...but fingers crossed you'll see Milton soon. I'm glad you love the bears; I love them too.

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  12. I think I'm afraid of bears because I'm not familiar with them. It the same as how some folks are scared of horses because they haven't been around them. I do find them beautiful. I hope Milton is okay.

    Sam

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  13. We are always in awe of the BEAUTY that surrounds you!

    Your first picture of R & Shyla is priceless. They look so BEAUTIFUL.

    We sure hope that Milton is OK. It's sad to think that something may have happened to him.

    Thanks for sharing your See Beautiful with us.

    Hugs,
    Lily Belle & Muffin

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  14. We had a long pause on the 1st 2 photos. It reminded us when we were in HI last year. You've shared many Beautiful sights and moments with your dogs. Lots of Golden Thanks. Golden LOVE. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar

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  15. Hi Y'all!

    Love the bears playing in the water!

    Shyla looks so happy!

    Y'all come by now,
    Hawk aka BrownDog

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  16. We share beautiful moments on your blog every single time we visit!! Thank you so much!! xo Jeanne, Chloe and LadyBug

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  17. Oh such beauty. We keep all of you in our thoughts as he hear about the scary fires.
    love
    tweedles

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  18. I feel I am learning so much about bears from your pictures and videos. Thanks!

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  19. The Iris petal is just fabulous!
    We loved your bear video, KB!

    Love ya lots♥
    Mitch and Molly

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  20. Gorgeous photos of Shyla and R! I adore the video of the bears playing in the water! That is truly special. Thanks for sharing. :-)

    Susan and Wrigs

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