Tag: Outdoor Critters

Local Antelope

Part of our local herd of antelope heading up one of the hills below our home.

We often seen antelope that come through our property and the adjacent state land (aka “BLM” or Bureau of Land Management land). I took the photo above on my way back to our house as they were heading up the hill to our back yard.

They are quite skittish and mostly keep to the wide open spaces. It’s a sight to see them run. As our fastest land mammal, they can clock upwards of 55mph. (My husband refers to them as speed goats). I’ve spooked them near our home before and they are amazing sprinters and will zig zag to avoid predators.

Grazing most of our front yard.

Lo and behold, once I parked my vehicle in the garage and allowed the yard to return to quiet again, they began hopping over and stepping through our wire fences to graze our land.

Grazing near our loafing sheds.

This was just a few antelope of the overall herd that often wonders through. The vast majority of them stayed off our place but this group must have felt a bit more brave in wanting to explore the remaining patches of prairie grass we still have here in winter. While the natural grasses here look yellow and dead, they are very much still alive.

The antelope moved here and there across our front yard and then began to head back towards the sunny plains beyond the shadow of the hills.

Back into the sun and more grass to graze.

They finally joined the rest of their herd which was already wandering off to the south. In no hurry, they meandered along their journey of grazing and avoiding people and cars.

Unexpected Guest

We recently found our back yard with a new addition to it that did not realize had been installed. Looking out of our windows, we noticed a large mound of dirt previously not there before. Soon, a distinctive face popped up from behind the dirt: A badger!

When looking straight at the dirt pile, it didn’t seem that large. But when we walked out there once the badger was underground again, we realized the amount of dirt that had been moved was nearly 7-8 feet wide.

Even the neighborhood barn cat (who we affectionately call Winter) was curious and decided to investigate precariously close to the hole.

Soon after these photos were taken, we spotted the badger at night on a game cam we put out in the back with a single baby. Thus, we dubbed the yard infiltrator Bernadette the Badger.

Bernadette is welcome to stay so long as no major damage is done beyond the den she dug to move her baby to. We’ll be keeping a careful eye on the back yard, but so far, she’s bothered no one. As long as we keep the peace, she’s welcome to the space until she moves on in a few weeks most likely.

Nighttime Visitor

We had just gotten ready to call it a night yesterday when we saw this fluffy traveller visit our bird feeder last night.

Evidently skunks eat birdseed. I was not aware of this, but, any port in a storm when it snows, I suppose.

Fury was quick to take point by positioning herself at the large bay window to keep watch on the developing situation.

We slept well knowing all was well 😉

A Little Piece of Heaven on Earth

IMG_2599

For our second anniversary we re-visited a favorite location in the Vedauwoo Recreation Area near where we live in Wyoming. My husband found this beautiful “crow’s nest” on top of a rocky hill and knew of it before he took me up there to camp one night. It is truly one of the most beautiful places I’ve been yet in my life and it’s our favorite spot to be.

IMG_2601

The camp site is like a bowl, surrounded by boulders and rock formations on all sides. At night, the wind can absolutely howl at this height. But we were there to watch the sun set and it was perfect, with just a slight movement of air (not even a wind) now and then. Sunset and sunrise here are magical hours.

IMG_2610

Everywhere you look, it’s a scene to be photographed. It’s important though, to put the camera down now and then and just take it in as God intended. On hiking up to the top this day, I took all the photos I wanted and then did just that. Put my camera away and sat with my husband taking in the views and roasting marshmallows.

IMG_2612

I find the trees and dead wood make their own composition just as strikingly as the far away views of mountains and plains. There is something interesting to see at every turn.

IMG_2624

My husband is a tireless worker and is always busy. His happy place is being outdoors and I love to see him relax when we venture here. It’s different when you’re somewhere that has quiet like this place. Even I feel it when I arrive. You are compelled to not talk so much, to sense everything around you differently and you just are different. It’s the re-set that happens when you’re in nature. It’s how we should be, but how we forget to be.

IMG_5907

On the way up the trail to get to the crow’s nest, we stumbled right into this pair of bull moose. They were happy to be left alone and continue to munch around the underbrush. (They seemed to realize we didn’t pose any threat but they kept a wary eye on us and never got too close).

IMG_5923

Once we had made it up to the crow’s nest, we caught sight of them again; this time much farther away but still on the move on a neighboring hilltop.

IMG_5949

There is abundant birding up here as well. We just had to sit still and watch around us and birds were everywhere, flitting this way and that, making final runs for food and what not before the sun set.

IMG_5932

This one seemed to set a reverie of evening light and stillness as it perched calmly in this tree. It was as if it knew the day was ending and it wanted to take it all in before retiring.

IMG_5939

It’s our little piece of heaven on earth. No better way to spend a special day 🙂

Yard Critter

A few days ago I saw what I though was a chipmunk flitting through the grass under our bird feeder. On closer inspection, I wasn’t quite sure what I was seeing when I noticed the striping down this little guy’s back. But sure enough, on searching the internet, I had a thirteen striped ground squirrel! Who knew such a little critter existed. Now to hold out hope he or she doesn’t have friends or family currently tunneling into our yard.

Critters on the Plains

IMG_2451.jpg

I’m actively trying to improve my skills at selecting the right aperture for bright, beaming sunshine. Lately I’ve been horrible at washing out my photos by forgetting to change that basic setting on my camera. This cute furball was my first subject of the day while out for a day of shooting (first rifle, then pictures). I know, ground squirrels are pests and the cause of many, many problems. But darn if they’re not cute as a button.

IMG_2552.jpg

I’m not sure if this is the same earless lizard I saw a few weeks ago; this one is smaller I think. No doubt, even in our shooting spot, there are many.

IMG_2536.jpg

I’m also trying to up-skill a bit on focusing on smaller subjects on the fly. However in this photo I was really focusing on the flowers and had no idea a grasshopper was in my view until I loaded the image to my laptop. Observant of me, no?

IMG_2569.jpg

This fellow was hanging on to this blade of grass for all he was worth. It’s not noticeable in the pictures but the wind was whipping and this guy had clamped onto the grass and was riding the gusts like a championship bull rider. It was a day for critters of all sizes!

Brilliant in Blue

2017-07-08 Blue-Eyed DarnerWhile in Wyoming two weeks ago I happened upon this stunning flier; a Blue-Eyed Darner I believe, perched on a sprout of wildflower.

The weekend was baking hot on the plains. It was so bright, I couldn’t make out if the dragonfly was in focus, even cupping my hands over my LCD screen on my camera. I took a chance and triggered several shots in sport mode, hoping one was clear and frankly, I got lucky. Even in the bright heat, the blue stood out amongst the sand and the rocks and the scrub and is the first such dragon fly I’ve seen. A beautiful little gem.