The Visitor

My friend Tim and I were having breakfast at his home when a black bear arrived on the lawn. The bear passed through the children's toys and walked right up to the window. A moment later, it walked up to the front porch, where only a screen door separated us from one another. The bear heard us and ran away. It circled around the house and then ran down the driveway. 

A little while later, Tim got some plaster casts of the bear prints in the sand. It was a little eerie to stand so close to a bear, but I count it as one of the more amazing experiences of my life. 

Quail

Over the last ten years, we have had several generations of quail nesting in the tree in our front yard. However, this current generation seems to have been raised in our back yard instead. This year, my daughter got some great pictures of the parent quail with their chicks. 

sxaslqs

wičn sxaslqs č čsaxm łuʔ sčecuweʔ.
I saw a moose near Wellpinit. 

That moose was looking kind of mean in this picture, but I don't think I was in any danger. My camera has a pretty decent zoom lens, so I was actually quite far away. 

Turnbull

After living in the Spokane area for most of my life - and attending classes at EWU in Cheney for three years - I never visited Turnbull Wildlife Refuge until this afternoon. 

My friend Carole introduced me to the park. This coyote greeted us at the entrance as we arrived. 

Turnbull is considered a riparian zone, which refers to an ecologically sensitive area situated between water and land, often characterized by water-loving plants like cattails or tule. The landscape is remarkably diverse, ranging from basalt scab-lands, to small lakes and pine forests. The vegetation is equally beautiful and diverse. 

We spent several hours at Turnbull photographing the plants and wildlife. It's truly an amazing place - well worth the visit. 

Tall grasses surround the many ponds and lakes. 

Ponderosa pines stand in the distance. 

This porcupine walked only ten feet away from us, apparently undisturbed by our presence. It was difficult to photograph because of the movement. However, I called out and said, "Stop moving so I can take your picture!" In that exact moment, it stood completely still and seemed to wait for my camera. It was quite funny. 

A lone pine on an island. 

Pink and purple flowers. 

A whitetail deer in velvet and a red summer coat. 

Ponderosa pines. 

Does anyone know these birds? 

Click on the image to get a better view. 

Lupine in the sunset. 

These little flowers were soft like feathers. 

Does anyone know their name? 

I believe these are naturalized or invasive flowers. 

Osprey Dinner

Last Friday, an osprey perched on a fence post near the highway and had a fish dinner. The osprey didn't move, even when I stopped the car and went back to get a closer look. I didn't have my zoom lens, but I still got a decent picture.  

Bobo

Bobo

August 26, 2002 - November 21 2013

Such a sad morning, our dog left us. We saw his slow decline over the last few weeks, especially the pain when he walked. At first, he responded to our attempts to make him well, then suddenly he turned for the worse. By the end, he could barely hold his head up. He isolated himself for many hours at a time and refused to eat. When I came home from work last night, I heard his labored breathing and knew his time was short. He waited until 6:00 this morning when we were all together, and then he passed away. 

We never asked for a dog. Years ago, our neighbor left him in our care while she went away to basic training, but then she never came back for him. Bobo became a part of our family. 

xʔulexʷ

My dog almost stepped on a rattlesnake during our walk this afternoon. I think the dog is going deaf, so he didn't hear the rattle. In any case, I had to physically restrain the dog and pull him away. He never did notice the snake, even after I got a few dozen pictures and a video. 

Bitterroots

Yesterday afternoon, I attended my aunt's birthday party, but I was so busy singing, eating, and visiting, that I didn't get any pictures. This is unusual for me, well, not the eating and visiting part, but rather the part about not getting any pictures. Sadly, I didn't even think of it. 

But after I left, I went out by myself to dig some bitterroots. Admittedly, it's a little late for that, because later in the season, bitterroots are harder to peel.  

At the same time, saw some flowers I didn't know. 

Can anyone identify these plants? 

Jennifer, this photograph shows the orange 

'heart' at the center of the bitterroot. 

As I left, the elk stopped to watch. 

 

A road sign in Salish: 

"qeqs čštim čyaʔtin."

"Let's take care of _____."

The last word is unclear to me. 

Seems like it refers to something scarce,

perhaps like scarce resources,

or something protected, 

which would be appropriate 

for an 'Adopt A Roadway' sign. 

Robert, do you know the exact translation? 

Jennifer, these are the peeled bitterroots.

***

Killdeer

The other day, I went walking and a killdeer (sandpiper) flopped on the ground near my feet, making a curious, broken-wing flutter. Somewhere in my childhood, I remembered seeing a classroom film about birds who do just that - they pretend to have broken wings to lure predators away from their nests. I also remembered finding an in-ground nest on my most recent camas dig, so I carefully watched my feet to avoid stepping on any eggs, but I also wanted to see them. Over the protest of the mother bird, I stayed in that immediate area and scanned the ground. 

Sure enough, the eggs were in plain sight, tucked in the crook of a wooden grave-marker. 

The eggs were just beautiful. The speckles made me think of a delicate watercolor painting - maybe something that I'll really paint someday. 

And the mother was beautiful too. As I watched her desperate plea, I tried to reassure her that I intended no harm to her babies. But I found myself intrigued by the question of consciousness. Is it simply a mindless instinct that drives a mother bird to risk herself to save her children? Is it some form an attachment that she feels? Is it love? From the scientific mind, I couldn't answer those questions, but from a spiritual mind, it all made sense. That killdeer mother inspired me; she made me think of what I wouldn't do to protect my own children. 

After watching a few moments, I wanted to see if she would lead me away. Once again, everything happened the way I learned in my childhood. When I walked toward the killdeer, she fluttered on the ground in the exact opposite direction of her nest. A few more steps further, and she fluttered again. This continued for about 100 yards until she made a 'miraculous' recovery and flew away. 

But I had to laugh, because as I walked back to my car, she scolded me. The whole experience was just beautiful! It is probably strange to say, but my heart was full. I feel so thankful to have witnessed this amazing bird ritual for myself. 

Below, you can see that I got a short video clip of her broken-wing act. 

By the way, when I got home, I tried to think of the Salish name for killdeer birds, but I couldn't think of it. In the dictionary it has two possible words: sccíʔistšn, or sttʔitšn.

Douglas

My daughter and I also visited the David Douglas exhibit at the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, or the MAC. This installation especially caught my interest because of the many indigenous plants collected by Douglas during his visit to the Columbia Plateau. 

Douglas observed the process of baking black moss in the ground. He referred to the final product as "moss bread." It was interesting to see his perspective on an ancient indigenous practice that survives into modern times. 

Bitterroot, camas, and black moss. 

  

I was surprised to learn that California condors once flew the skies above the Columbia Plateau. This specimen had a wing span exceeding nine feet. 

Moose

Three moose were standing on the highway on the way to Wellpinit this afternoon. When I stopped to take a picture, they ran up the hill.   

Snake

A few weeks ago, we saw a baby snake slithering on the sidewalk just outside the entrance of the school. Some students noticed and walked a wide circle to avoid it, but others were oblivious to the potential danger and almost stepped on it. The snake measured less than six inches long, and yet it showed an aggressive disposition by shaking its tail and striking at bypassers like a rattle snake. I didn't notice any rattles on the tail, but just to be sure, we captured the snake under a plastic container and removed it far away from people.

Afterwards, I compared the photograph with online descriptions of local snakes. Turns out it was probably a gopher snake or a bull snake, but not a rattler. Even so, it sure put on a good show.

Yoyot

I've been away from the Blogosphere for about ten days. Actually, I've been exceptionally busy living my life, rather than just writing about it, but more on that later...

More than a week ago, I promised my niece and nephew that I would post these pictures with my aunt's horse Yoyot (Strong). We took a few dozen pictures that day, but these were my favorites.

Patrick got to be the expert horseman for a day.