Photos and text copyright Romping and Rolling in the Rockies 2009-2017.

All photographs and text within this blog are copyrighted.

You may not copy or repost any photos or text without specific permission from the author of this blog. When in doubt, please ask.

Friday, June 26, 2015

Of Moose, Lions, and Flowers

Today dawned stormy, right from the start. The mountains disappeared behind the clouds.
Shyla and I took an easy mountain bike ride. I badly tweaked my neck/shoulder recently, and I've been trying to let it heal. I think it's improving... but sometimes the side-effects of my spinal problems feel endless.

During our ride, on a trail that I have no qualms about taking Shyla on, I found some interesting photos on one of my trail cameras. Our young male moose, who grew up with his mom in our neck of the woods, has returned. I know from my cameras that he'd walked about 5 miles away from here but I guess he didn't like what he found.

He and his mom spent a lot of time near this trail camera last winter. More recently, I also know that his mom and her new calf have foraged near here. I'm not sure what would transpire if he met his mom again in the forest. I suspect that she'd tell him to go away. It's time for him to find his own territory.
The next photo gives you perspective on how tall this relatively "small" moose is, especially compared to the next animal who passed this camera.
The next animal was a mountain lion. She was not huge, as lions go, but she looked positively tiny compared to the moose. She stood stock still in that spot for a long time, perhaps picking up the scent of the moose?
Then she walked onward. I have wondered recently if a mountain lion could take down a yearling moose. I now think it's unlikely, after seeing the size comparison at this camera.
 I will never get over how much fun it is to peek into the wild animals' lives with my trail cameras.

Happy Friday to all of you! We will keep enjoying our yellow flowers for as long as they keep blooming so we'll try to visit them again this weekend.
In the mountains, life seems to zip by faster because the spring and summer are so short. That truly teaches me to immerse myself in whatever is most beautiful at the moment. Right now, it's yellow flowers and Columbines!

19 comments:

  1. After living in CO for 7 years, I was really surprised to see red and yellow columbine in New England - I had forgotten they come in other colors besides blue!
    (re: moose vs. lion question, I think it would depend on the approach. From overhead, lion would be likely to succeed I think.)
    Soak up the summer days, KB!

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a beautiful back drop the yellow flowers are to Shyla, especially with the bokeh you got.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Enjoy that golden weather, down here cooler, rain has stopped, and flooded areas drying out, so many with huge clean up to do, and many evacuated, or so isolated supplies are taken in by helicopter. All OK at home, glad the pre-op appt. is over.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sending some special rottie POTP to your neck and shoulder.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I never get tired of seeing your photos, and can only imagine the excitement you feel when you view them and get that glimpse of the life all around you!

    ReplyDelete
  6. The yellow flowers are the perfect backdrop for beautiful Shyla:) Hope your neck continues to improve. Happy weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  7. hope you get feeling better, love seeing the young moose
    hugs
    Mr Bailey, Hazel & Mabel

    ReplyDelete
  8. Crikey ..... that moose bloke is big, aye?? Beautiful photos of Shyla again. Hope your neck/shoulder improves quickly for you.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow! You're right that cougar does look tiny after looking at the moose!

    ReplyDelete
  10. We just adore that first picture! You have the best playground in this entire world, Shyla!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hari OM
    Nothing beats seeing nature living....naturally! I love that you share them with us... meanwhile, still waiting for summer in Scotland. Word is it might be coming this week. oh yeah... Hugs for your healing. YAM xx

    ReplyDelete
  12. There is no doubt how beeautiful your world is! Maybe the short season amplifies it! Hope your neck/shoulder issue improves soon!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Great photos! You sure never lack for interesting things!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Long leggedy moose, I love them!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Moose (not Meese) are much bigger than I always imagine them to be in my head. Wonderful photos with the flowers! :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. I've got the moose and the yellow flowers (though not fields-full like you do). The columbines are starting in my garden. I'll hike to an alpine meadow on Monday, hoping to find more wildflowers. Shyla looks beautiful backed by yellow.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Were enjoying every moment with you too!
    That moose has some long legs!
    love
    tweedles

    ReplyDelete

If you are a Blogger registered user, you can skip the step asking you to verify that you are not a spammer. For posts older than 5 days, I have comment moderation turned on.

Thanks for your comments!!!!!