A bear cub with big aspirations!

I want to share some bear footage with you. But first, it seems that the bears love to be out around sunset, and so do we! Whenever Shyla is panting and picks up an interesting scent (maybe a bear?), she sticks her tongue out while she sniffs. It's cute, don't you think?

In the bear video, we have a very rambunctious male bear. He visited a tree on multiple occasions, and each time, he marked it at least 4 times. On one occasion, I believe that he had a mate with him, because a large animal blocked the camera for an instant just after the male had walked away.

Be sure to watch to the end. The mother, Mabel, and her single cub visited the same tree after the big male. The fact that the mother was on the mating trail concerns me slightly. It's possible that the hormonal effect of nursing by one cub has not been enough to make her unavailable for mating this year. If she meets a male bear and they mate, the consequences for the tiny cub could be very rough. Mabel could lose track of the cub since the male won't let the cub hang around...

But, for the moment, they're together! As you'll see, this tiny cub has huge aspirations! I've never seen this from a cub before. You can watch the video here or at Youtube.

Almost Wordless Wednesday: Wildlife and Sunshine!

Interesting traffic past our house...

And some sunshine, finally...

See Beautiful

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I've become even more aware of that this month. In one case, I happened upon a guy with a rifle trying, but failing, to shoot a coyote "just because he was there". In contrast, I adore our coyotes. At this time of year, they show up so often on my trail cameras that I learn to identify the different pack members.

This guy was curious about my camera and came so close that he wasn't in focus.

And, this guy licked his nose as he examined my camera's glowing red LEDs from a distance.

Another part of life that has brought me great delight is that, after months of "limited activity", Shyla can run again. That means that she and her brother can play at full speed. I haven't yet had them out together in good light (to capture good photos). But, yesterday around sunset, they romped maniacally.

Shyla brings out the puppy in R... not that it's ever far from the surface! Look at his eyes!

Then, this morning, it was very cold, windy, and snowing. But, there was a small gap in the clouds exactly where the sun rises. We were treated to a show of falling snow and sunrise light for about 5 minutes.

The whole world looked orange. So very beautiful.

Shyla seemed to enjoy it as much as I did. She sampled the scents in the wind atop a boulder.

Our world is beautiful. We are part of the See Beautiful Blog Hop.

Updates on mountain lions and Shyla

We've had quite a flurry of mountain lion activity near us recently. One lion, in particular, has been spending a lot of time in a small area. Here she was, one morning, ambling along.

She walked at least 6 miles in between the first photo and the next one. I know about her travels because I captured her image 3 miles away in the middle of the afternoon, before she returned to this same spot in the evening.

This spot has been extremely interesting to our mountain lions recently. They've been displaying behaviors that I've never seen before. I also have never seen them in anyone else's trail camera photos.

She rolled around, rubbed her face on a rock, and stayed at the base of this bear marking tree for quite a while. When I looked closely at the rock that she was rubbing in these photos, it's completely covered in mountain lion fur.

The next photo explains to me why I've seen this lion in one area so frequently. She has enlarged teats on her abdomen. A wildlife expert emailed to say that she saw enlarged teats on an earlier photo from a couple of weeks before this one. This photo confirms it for me.

So, I believe that this is a mother mountain lion who has kitten(s) stashed somewhere nearby. She's hunting in a small area because her kitten(s) are not ready to move long distances yet. I thought that we might get the chance to see her kitten(s) but I've just learned that I have to move this camera. I am incredibly disappointed, as I've never captured a trail camera photo of a young mountain lion kitten yet. That'll be a challenge for another season.

In other news, I still haven't heard the most important result from Shyla's appointment on Monday. I finally called today and left a message with the vet, asking if they knew the results. I haven't heard back yet. It's the test for fungal infections that attack bones... and, if it's positive, we won't need a bone biopsy. Rather, we'll just treat with anti-fungal medications.

Shyla just learned to "take a bow"!

Shyla's limp is barely perceptible but the lump on her bone has not shrunk even the slightest bit. I don't know what to think of the combination of an improving limp but a still large lump.

I do know that our girl is going crazy with excess energy. She arrived here near the end of August and did nothing destructive or even mischievous until the past week. We gave her lots of exercise until her limp started, and when the exercise decreased, the mischief increased. By chewing the zippers out of some of my favorite clothes within the past week, she taught me to put them all out of her reach.

However, while a surprise visitor was at the door today, Shyla discovered the wonders of unrolling toilet paper and spreading it in a long ribbon all over the house. I didn't think to take a photo before I cleaned it up. I was too shocked. My little angel has some serious mischief in her!

This morning, Shyla and I took our short leash walk to visit K's Boulder (the boulder where K is standing in the banner photo). Just below Shyla's snout in the photo, you can see two small white granite rocks that I placed there early last summer. I put them there to represent K and my friend's dog, who was also having a tough time. For some reason, I didn't let Shyla stand in this spot, one of K's favorite spots, until this morning. But now, I feel that Shyla has earned this place of honor.

The spokes change but wheel keeps turning, and I never stop loving life and my dogs despite the many bumps in the road.

Ready for winter

It's time to explain why there have been no "action" photos of Shyla lately.

About five days ago, we were doing some training on a grassy field in a town park. Shyla was walking on leash and suddenly came up lame on a front limb for no apparent reason. We've been doing R & R ever since, hoping that it would be a puppy muscle "tweak" that would just go away. Indeed, that was our vet's guess when she did an exam earlier this week. The vet said that it felt like a soft tissue injury that she guessed would heal on its own with rest.

Alas, Shyla is still limping, and I'm thinking that it's time to get an appointment with an orthopedist. Usually, they're booked pretty far out so we can make an appointment and continue our program of resting until then, cancelling the appointment if Shyla gets better before it.

I have to admit to being pretty upset about Shyla's limp. After all the veterinary drama in our house in the past year, I desperately want Shyla to be in perfect health for a while! And, I love the girl so I hate seeing her be constrained to short leash walks and no playing.

So, today, we continued with training in the morning instead of a long hike or romp. First, we worked on "leave it", using one of the most tempting "treats" on the trails. Shyla sampled one of these piles the other day and decided that it was a delicacy. It looks as if "leave it" will work very well for keeping her away from the piles of horse nuggets that seem to appear like landmines on the trails every weekend.

Then, we worked on "relax", in a new place. Shyla was lying on a bed of pine needles and looked very relaxed and comfortable.

Indeed, she seemed to doze off for an instant. She's getting the hang of "relaxing"!

When I stood right above Shyla, she rolled onto her back and tried to get me to play with her. What a cutie!

You can also see that Shyla has a "Cycle Dog" collar. It's made from recycled bike tubes and seems comfy and durable. I truly hope that Shyla's leg gets better in time for her to start running with me as I mountain bike on her first birthday! It's less than a month away.

After my "Shyla time" this morning, I checked a remote trail camera that has hosted both a bobcat and a coyote family since I last visited it.

I wonder if the coyotes smelled the bobcat based on their sniffing. It's interesting to see that one of them seemed to be the "lookout" for the group. Their coats are so thick that they look substantially bigger than in mid-summer. They're ready for winter!

Now, it's time for all of us to get as ready as the coyotes for the winter ahead!

The Intensity

Brrrr, it was another wintry and wet day out there. About a month ago, I didn't show you these photos of a bear because I didn't want to admit that the season was truly changing. This spot is close to a bear "day bed" on a deep layer of pine needles that the bears use for sleeping in the fall before they hibernate. I never get a photo of a bear at this site before September - these photos were a sign that summer was ending.

I often can identify the bears (I've given some of them names, as you know) but I didn't see enough of this one to be sure of who he was. I do know that he was a burly and strong bear!

Shyla and I passed near the spot where the bear's photo was taken on our hike this morning. It was cold and ice was dripping off aspen leaves.

I took a few photos but then I needed to get moving to stay warm.

Shyla loves the cold weather. She barreled through the rime ice covered grass from one side of the trail to the other. When I called her, she ran to me at full speed! Her recalls are amazingly good already.

We hit some serious patches of fog, and Shyla would emerge like a ghost from the dim light. Look how high she holds her tail in our forest, and look at the intensity in her eyes. That intensity is new - like a fire has been lit inside her. This girl is finding her confidence and becoming a force to be reckoned with.

Then, just as quickly, the fog would lift, and I could see colors again.

The spiders' webs in the forest were glowing with rime ice - they were so beautiful with the golden aspen background.

After our hike, I left the galloping Shyla home with the boys, and I headed out into the cold wet world. The pogonip (freezing fog) obscured every view during my ride.

It also made amazing sculptures on the aspen leaves when I hit the most exposed part of the ride.

It wasn't my favorite ride ever. When I wasn't climbing straight uphill in the forest, it was nippy and wet. My glasses became so ice-covered that I couldn't see through them. Then, I blew out my rear shock, and I had to pedal very gingerly all the way home to avoid destroying the shock forever. Believe me, blowing out a shock is a feat for a 105 lb girl who doesn't ride aggressively. Fortunately, it was on my "old" bike that I reserve for bad weather days like today.

Now, we are all relaxing in front of a crackling fire. Tis the season...

An update and some wildlife

I don't have time to write the next chapter of our trip today so I thought that I'd tell you about a few odds and ends. First and foremost, although K's health has definitely taken a step in the wrong direction, she's still having fun in life.

She and I take a hike in the woods each morning. Although her limp can be incredibly pronounced around the house, she forgets about when she's outside. She runs around having fun, with barely a hitch in her stride.

Some may disagree with our approach but we've decided to give K the freedom to have fun and do as she likes during our hikes. We realize that there could be bad consequences that could shorten her life. But, we think that it's better to live fewer days with joy than to live more days without the sparkle. I like to think that K agrees.

I do have to admit that I'm sad that I believe that, barring a miracle, our mountain biking days are over. I took this photo on our last ride up to Hug Hill about five days ago.

Ah, what adventures K and I have shared on our mountain bike rides. I am so grateful for every single one.

During the day after that bike ride, it seemed like something "happened" to K's formerly cancerous leg. Our regular vet thinks that it was a microfracture. We'll see what the oncologist thinks tomorrow. I am still holding out hope that K will be able to walk up to Hug Hill at least once again. However, it feels like too far for her right now.

But, I still revel in what we *can* do together. We take our evening hikes, usually with R and the Runner. I shall never cease to love the red hue of K's fur at sunset. I also love the sensitive side of R. In this photo, he gave her a long and searching look. I'm sure that this is a confusing time for him.

On the wildlife front, I captured some hilarious video of bears marking a tiny tree but I'll have to collate it into a presentable form for another day. I find that editing video is SO time-intensive.

Although I hesitate to call them "wildlife", we've been having a mouse issue in our house. I can't bear to kill any living thing so we capture them alive and take them into the meadow for release. I'm sure that some find their way back to our clearing. Here's one right after I released him.

My wildlife cameras have shown me that our bobcat is helping out with the mouse "issue"! Here, he arrived in our clearing, just outside our bedroom window.

One minute later, he departed with a mouse in his mouth. You can see the mouse tail hanging out of his mouth. I guess that the bobcat isn't squeamish about mice like I am!

He must have devoured the mouse in one gulp because he was returning to our clearing within another minute. Go Mr. Bobcat, Go!!!!

As a final note, tomorrow will be a long day with K's oncologist appointment and hours of driving. I'll try to post but please don't worry if I am delayed.

Oh, how I love our K. I think that tomorrow will be a tough one but I'm holding out a glimmer of hope that the oncologist will have a trick or two up her sleeve to keep K comfortable for a bit longer.

The Duo and Black Bear Marks Trees!

I've had the chance to spend extra time with both halves of the Duo out in the forest recently. The two of them have gone with me for short mountain bike rides in the mornings. It's a gift... because I love seeing the Duo together.

It's been warm and sunny - simply glorious weather.

These two dark-colored dogs believe it's been a little too warm so we retire to the shaded north-facing slopes when we can.

K had a blast, and that's what life's all about! R and I had fun too!

Today, after I rode with them, I did a solo ride that included checking some faraway trail cameras. Whoa - I hit the jackpot.

A male bear had ambled around a bear-friendly area that houses numerous marking trees that bears like to rub their scent onto. He passed three of my cameras, and the first one was shooting video! It's a super fun video... and here's one photo to give you an idea of what this male bear was doing.

I've made a short video of the behavior of this amazing bear (who might be "Tiny" from last fall). As some of you know, I adore bears, and I love capturing their natural behavior with my trail cameras. Today was a bonanza.

You can watch it here or at Youtube.

Enjoy. Happy Spring!