Wordless Wednesday

A mountain lion on the tail of the bobcat family

You may remember the last vignette from the bobcat family's life. They visited a water hole.

And then the kittens examined a mountain lion scrape a short distance away while mom was on the lookout.

It turned out that a mountain lion was following close behind them. He arrived at the water hole about 45 minutes after them. He drank and drank... for about two minutes.

He is huge compared to the bobcats.

Then, he followed the same path as the bobcat family. Compare this photo to the one of the bobcats in the same place. The size difference is astounding.

As you'll see in the video, this lion probably took a cat nap for 5 hours or so, and then he emerged about a mile further along our local cat trail.

I have no reason to think that he ever caught up to the bobcats but I'll update you when my cams see them again!

Here's a short video of the bobcats and lion.

The Hachi Chronicle

Autumn is truly upon us, and we have only a little bit longer before our first real snow.

Autumn always brings a sense of urgency that we'd better seize its short days before winter takes over. For that reason, we've been getting out to enjoy it, and Hachi has been going places where there are other people on the trails. That's a novelty for him because our home trails are empty.

Over the course of each outing, he's gotten slightly less afraid of strangers with repetition but it's sad to see how scared he is. His head swivels from side to side hypervigilantly watching for incoming people. He might bark like a big tough dog when he sees a stranger but it's totally based in fear. If we move him far enough away from a stranger, he can calm down. We do our engage/disengage game, where he looks at the stranger (the "engage" part) and then at us ("disengage") for a treat. 

I am now completely convinced that his fear isn't being sufficiently treated by meds yet. The adjustments to his meds must happen so slowly that it's taking a long time to get where we need to be. I don't think that our behavior modification training will help much until he's less anxious.

The amazing thing is how fast he recovers from each episode of fear over seeing strangers. I took this photo of him shortly after two off-leash dogs had galloped straight up to us as Hachi and I wandered around well away from the trails (he was on-leash). It was undoubtedly scary for him but he calmed down pretty quickly.

I have moments of despair after a huge reaction to something unexpected like a stranger approaching. But, when I see his warm and affectionate heart shine through, I feel like there's real hope.

He and I have a tradition of a sweet morning greeting. Hachi is so excited to see me when he comes out of his crate, wiggling his whole body up against me asking for pats. If I stop patting, he leans into me and wiggles again. It's such an uplifting way to start my day. I love our little guy.

Black Dog Sunday

Our Black Dog has had a rough couple of weeks. He's been reluctant to go for runs, and sometimes even to go for a walk. He's been checked out by our vet who thinks that he's in physical pain - in his spine and bad elbow. We've started him on some medication that may help.

With that in mind, we weren't sure whether to do our traditional fall hike up to some lakes high in the mountains. It's not a very long hike but it involves a fair bit of hopping over obstacles and rocky ground.

We decided to try it. We thought that we'd let our Black Dog decide how far we went. After all, at just a couple of weeks shy of 12 years old, the odds were low that the hike would get easier for him in coming years.

The easy part was getting to the lake shown above. The harder part was an off-trail scramble to the lake that we've dubbed "Dog Leap Lake". R rose to the occasion. He never showed any lack of enthusiasm, and he seemed to easily make it to Dog Leap Lake, as he's done for every year of his life.

And, he was excited to play in the water once we got there.

He retrieved tennis balls, perhaps his favorite game on Earth.

And he kept going back for more!

We cut the retrieving game a bit short to make sure that R had the energy to get back to the trailhead. No problem - he did it without a problem.

He seemed to pay a price for the fun afternoon in the mountains, as he adamantly didn't want to exercise the next morning. That's okay. I paid a price too, in terms of spine pain, but it was worth it. I think that our Black Dog and I have a similar approach to life.

Happy Black Dog Sunday.

Shyla on Saturday

I spend so much wonderful outdoor time with Shyla every single day. It starts at sunrise when we go out to greet the light. I've been trying to figure out how to take decent photos with the sun behind my subject... and Shyla obliges my obsession with figuring it out.

Then, we go play in the aspens. Shyla seems to love being my subject as much as I love taking photos of her. 

Shyla and I had some rough times back when my dad was first diagnosed with cancer. I was stressed to the absolute max. Shyla could sense it, and stress scares her. So my stress caused her to keep her distance from me. Now, I am simply sad (but my stress level is low), and Shyla can handle that... so she is strives to make me smile as often as possible.

Then, we see the sun set together most evenings.
I cannot imagine life without Shyla.

And now it's time to go snuggle with her. My spine pain is horrendous tonight, and Shyla's sweet snuggles are the best pain killers.

Moose Security Detail

We have a new home security company who sent a burly security guard to defend the perimeter of our land. He chases anyone who tries to come close to our land. He must be a little confused about his job because he also chases us when we try to go outside.

When he first started on the job, he had a younger sidekick who assisted him. But, when the cow moose started hanging around them, the big bull drove off this younger one. It is mating season, after all.


When he first was nearby, the big bull seemed relatively mellow. That changed within days. This was the first day that he chased me as I tried to exit our house. When I say "chased", I mean that he stared at me and started walking directly at me. I didn't stick around to find out whether he'd stop or not.

A couple of days later, he drove me into the house when I was out working on my garden. I first heard a snort from the forest nearby as I dug in the dirt. Then, I heard the sound of antlers hitting a branch. Very soon thereafter, he emerged from the forest coming straight at me. I sprinted inside.

After that, we named him "CrankyMoose", and we started reporting his location to each other so that we could give him a wide berth. My phone constantly changes his name to "CrankyMouse" in my texts which makes me laugh. It's the only funny part of having this moose around. He scares me.

He's had a series of girlfriends although I only have photos of his first girlfriend. I was much too scared of CrankyMoose to attempt any photos after that. Here, he gave me the hairy eyeball as he hung out with one of his many girlfriends.

She was nestled in the foliage close to him.

He seems to hang out with each girlfriend for about two days. Then, he takes a day or two to find the next one. He's especially cranky during his solo phases.

Unfortunately, he truly charged one person and his on-leash dog. I was told that the moose hit the person with his antlers and tossed him several feet. Thank goodness that the moose did nothing more. The person has scrapes and bruises, and the dog is limping. I am grateful because it could have been far worse. Bull moose are said to be the most dangerous animals in the forest during mating season.

I have footage of the bull moose in our area from trail cams. Please check out the video if you have time.

Thankful Thursday

Less than a month ago, I saw these wildflowers in the high mountains. They were in a meadow next to a turquoise lake.

The reason why they were blooming so late is that a snowfield was still melting. You can see it on the right edge of this photo and the previous one. After last winter's epic snowfall, roads were still closed in early September because deep fields of snow covered them. As the snow melted, spring flowers sprung up on the newly uncovered ground, even though it was almost autumn.

My best girlfriend and I loved our time in the flowers. She's the best dog that anyone could ask for as their outdoor buddy.

Now, a month later, the aspen leaves are reaching their full golden color - not so different from the golden flowers of a month ago.

I am thankful for all of nature's beauty. It keeps me smiling. And thanks to Brian for hosting the Thankful Thursday blog hop.

Wordless Wednesday - Golden World

The bobcat kittens are so cute!

Our mother bobcat and one kitten appeared in front of a trail cam. They were thirsty, and most water sources are dry now. This is a good and clean one.

Soon thereafter, the smaller kitten caught up and took a drink close to mom. At the same time, the bigger kitten decided to depart in style!


The bigger kitten came back to pounce on the smaller one but he wasn't interested in playing.

I'm a little worried about the smaller kitten. He has one eye without eye shine, and he's lagging in size and energy well behind his sibling. I hope that he's okay.

The family walked up the trail to a mountain lion marking spot. Mom paused to wait for the little ones while they sniffed a scent mark left by a mountain lion about 6 weeks ago. It's amazing how sensitive their noses are!

Before the family moved onward, the kittens explored some more close to mom. 

I love this little family. Based on past years, I know that the kittens will stay with mom until February or so. They'll shift their movements to areas that get less snow. I hope that we can follow them for that long.

Check out the short video if you have time. The cuteness and playfulness abounds!

The Hachi Chronicle

Hachi had a mostly good week, with only a couple of small incidents. On his revised medicine schedule, we notice his arousal and intensity rising around dinner time, prior to our evening walk. This is despite the fact that he should be well-covered by meds at that point because we give doses in the late afternoon to head off this intensity.

His intensity blows me away. We've been working very hard on his recalls, playing games where one of us is the distraction and the other calls him. He has learned to bolt to us when called very fast. This is what the start of a recall looks like. That sure is intensity!

His focus and intensity mean that he can learn new things very fast. He rockets to a high level of proficiency in the blink of an eye.

The downside is that, when his intensity ratchets upward, he becomes more likely to show signs of aggression toward the Duo. For example, when he's too intense, he will resource guard a mushroom in the forest from R, even though it doesn't appear to me that Hachi likes to eat mushrooms. That's what happened this evening. It was just a short snarl - no harm done to R.

He had another harmless incident when we were preparing Snuffle Mats, loaded with kibble, for the three dogs. R walked into the room, and Hachi barked aggressively at him from inside his ex pen. It wasn't a big deal but it does make me think that we need another medicine adjustment.

I've noticed that Shyla can read Hachi really well. She seems to know when it's okay to approach him, greet him, or join him in sniffing something. She sometimes appears to try to soothe him when he's over threshold in his ex pen, and she lies right next to it (perfectly safe due to the ex pen). It's interesting to see our fearful girl playing this role.

Despite those two incidents, I'd say that it was a pretty good week. Hachi was mostly happy and relaxed.

Black Dog Sunday

When we were at my favorite campsite high in the Colorado mountains, our Black Dog and I played games together. This "youngster" kept leaping right out of my camera frame because he was so pumped to play!
After 12 years of playing these games with me, he still shakes with excitement when I invite him to play!

In his intense enthusiasm, he also knocked me over a couple of times, not slowing down as he got close to me and my camera. In his defense, I don't think that he saw me due to his near-blindness. He also broke into song a few times.

His joy is contagious. Playing with him is so uplifting.

Happy Black Dog Sunday.

Sweet Shyla Saturday

This girl - thank goodness for her.

She has a heart of gold and a spirit that cannot be squelched.

She can sense just what her humans are feeling. Her sensitivity is what makes her fearful but it's also what makes her such a loving dog.

On the evening when I took these photos, I was so happy to be in the high mountains, sleeping at 11,500' in the thin air. Shyla sensed my ebullient mood, and she was leaping with joy. You can see in that previous image that she was launching into a leap even though there was nothing to jump over!

She can sense other moods too - sad or unhappy ones - and she responds with a soft and sweet approach. I needed her in that mode this evening, and she was there for me.

When I first met Shyla, I had no idea how deep our bond would become. I'm so fortunate to have her in my life.

Our bear family travels and plays

As the bear family walks through their territory, mom works to find food and the cubs play. Playing is how the cubs learn and get stronger. One favorite form of play is climbing trees. Brownie is in  bear marking tree, spreading her scent all over it.

The cubs are instinctively attracted to the trees that have been marked over many years by myriad bears. They do tree-marking dances when they don't climb the trees.

Sometimes, they just dance around the base while balancing on two legs.

This footage was from before the bears departed to find more to eat than was available here. I haven't seen any sign that they've returned yet.

Please check out the short video if you have time.

Thankful Thursday

Over these months of difficult times, photography has been helping me reduce my stress. I become totally engrossed in it, trying to express various aspects of the swirl of emotions inside me.

The biggest theme has been finding the beauty and the brightness along the path of life. Seeing a dog in the dark forest at sunrise, with the sun aligned just right, is an expression of that theme. On this particular morning, Shyla's breath was turning to mist which the sun lit up beautifully.

Within the darkness, beauty shines through.

Another expression of that theme is noticing small flowers that are glowing in the sunshine along a forest path. These flowers are tiny but they still can catch my eye as I pedal along a path.

Of course, it's sadness over my dad's cancer that has me seeking out life's beauty. All of the official news about my dad's surgery is fabulous. The surgeons believe that they removed all of the cancer. Even though they had to remove a big muscle that moves his arm and transplant a muscle from his back to replace it, he is moving his arm well - and that was not predicted! The downside is my dad's cognitive haziness. He is confused and scared some of the time, and that breaks my heart. I don't know the prognosis for that... but I'm remaining hopeful. I am experiencing the role reversal that so many sons and daughters experience at some point in their parents' lives.

In the meantime, I am going to continue to seek out beauty that makes me smile every single day, even on days when I'm sad. It always helps me, and I love trying to take photos that let others see that beauty too.

Thanks to Brian for hosting the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop!