See Beautiful

It's "See Beautiful" Friday, hosted by our friend Sugar, and I am struggling with writing a post. It can be hard to find the beauty in life when you have a migraine. But, as I stop and think about it, I am so grateful to be living the mountain life, observing the wildlife and playing in the forest with my dogs. This life makes me happy, even during the tough times.

Today, before the migraine set in, I rode my snow bike to visit a black bear trail. I know from past years that the big male black bears usually pass through this area when they're ready to find a den.

Here's a big male bear sniffing a bear tree on his way to slopes that hold lots of dens.

He decided to rub his enormous butt against the tree to mark it. I'm guessing he didn't have the energy to do a full bipedal marking on that -11°F morning.

My camera, which another animal had earlier knocked askew, captured his image a little further along the path. Look at how frosty he is!

Thank goodness for his very thick layer of fat and luxurious coat.

It makes me smile that we live in a place where such wild animals can flourish. They amaze me with their ability to survive the tough conditions here. I think that the wildlife, particularly the bears and mountain lions, are the most beautiful wild inhabitants of our forests.

Another beautiful part of my life is this girl, Shyla. After some struggles with her teenaged boundary-testing this summer and autumn, we've found an equilibrium that I think we're both happy with. I feel as if we've become even closer since going through that phase together.

By the end of K's life, I'd forgotten how a bond between a human and a dog grows with each year and each shared adventure. I've been reminded of that by my life with Shyla.

We are growing together and having so much fun in our mountain world.

Our bond is beautiful to me. I feel like I have another heart dog (and I know how lucky I am to feel that way). Shyla is very different from K but she's the dog for me in this phase of my life.