Nature Abounding

On the seventh of September 2010 we were coming out from the ranch. It was dusk and were in Ellen's car. Ellen yelled stop and I mashed down on the brake and there was a yellow calf standing in the middle of the road. About a six hundred pounder that matched the road very well in deed. Adie and Tig wanted to jump out and give chase to the calf. They live for a chance to do so. We did not allow it, they pouted. I sort of took this as, 'this is going to be one of those trips.'

We were very near the mouth of Smith Creek and there is something small yet tall in the road. I once again did a panic stop. As we were siding at it we identified as an owl. There is this owl on the road. It will not move, I slid to a stop. It is so close it has now disappeared from view. It is now under the car or about under the car. I threw it in reverse and back up. There it still is standing in the same place. It begrudgingly sort of gives us a dirty look and flew to the side of the road. Adie and Tig still want a chance to go after some thing.

We get to the river grade where you go down to the river bridge and there where you make the first hair pin curve there is more deer than I have seen in years. Does and fawns and fawns and does but no bucks did we see. Adie and Tig once again offer to get them out of the road for us.

This morning September 8, 2010 I did not plan on returning to the ranch. But I was so far out on work I decided to make a trip up there. The building package or lumber was going to show up. It is also the last day they were going to pour concrete up there and I needed to talk to the finisher so up I went again.

Along the canyon rim next to the river there at the Dawes Flat. There in a fir tree growing up out of the South Fork Canyon was an eagle perched there. I stopped and watched. The smaller birds were pestering it like they do. They flit in and squawk tease and just seem to make life miserable for no reason other than they can.

It seemed so applicable, the great symbol of our nation and these small harassing birds. A couple jays and magpies. (No the West Nile has not killed them off.) They always remind me of of those nations who have a Gross National Product below that of WalMart. Totally disconnected to the USA but always there for no known reason harassing and jabbering at it.


It has been a great week for wild life up there.

That evening driving out. There in a draw in Grave Creek was a group of about ten or twelve young bucks all all spikes or small forked horned bucks. The older bucks must have put to flight. Indeed the season is starting to change.

When you make as many drives in and out of there as we do collectively. We will go days with out seeing much even wondering if there is anything left in the country. Then there are those days when nature does abound!