I met these guys on a recent walk near a small pond not too far from my apartment . I heard them first, and stopped in the middle of the street to identify the noisy pair in the tall Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata). 
The young raccoons (Procyon lotor) seemed as interested in me as I was in them! Raccoons are interesting critters, and I remmember them well from my Missouri childhood. They are frequent visitors to my side yard here in Washington state. Raccoon tracks of ten look like little human handprints!
Wow, life gets busy and crazy all of a sudden...end of year stuff at work, staff retreat coming up the 26th-28th, new school year about to begin...Yikes!I keep forgetting to bring in my disk with photos from my visit with Missouri friends a couple of weeks ago. Pike's Place Market in downtown Seattle with Madonna and Dave, with lunch at Lowell's overlooking the water..then an afternoon on the deck of the B&B where they were staying. I had a great time, enjoyed catching up with my friends, and loved the quiet of the deck after the noise and commotion of the Market. Even on a Friday it was crowded and loud! I don't think they got the ultimate Seattle vacation...it was sunny the entire week they were visiting the Hoh Rainforest, Victoria and Seattle. It was actually hotter here than back at their St. Louis area home. They should come back in November and get the rain!
My Favorite Fiction Authors and Books
- Suzanne Arruda- the Jade del Cameron mysteries: "The Mark of the Lion" "Stalking Ivory", "The Serpent's Daughter", "The Leopard's Prey" and "The Golden Cheetah"
- Ken Goddard - "Balefire" and others
- Stephen White - the Dr. Alan Gregory books are all great. "Kill Me" is my favorite.
- Harlan Coben - anything he writes is great
- Elizabeth Peters - Amelia Peabody mysteries
My Favorite Nonfiction Authors and Books
- "Coyote's Guide to Connecting With Nature" by Jon Young, Ellen Haas and Evan McGown- 2nd edition coming soon!
- Gavin De Becker - "The Gift of Fear"
- "Deep Survival" by Laurence Gonzales- the best survival book I've ever read! Not a how-to, its more of a who does,and why.
- Candice Millard - "The River of Doubt -Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey"
- Anything that starts with "Peterson's Field Guide To..."
- Tom Brown, Jr. - "The Tracker" and others
- Mark Elbroch - "Mammal Tracks and Sign" and "Animal Skulls"
I met these guys on a recent walk near a small pond not too far from my apartment . I heard them first, and stopped in the middle of the street to identify the noisy pair in the tall Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata). 
The young raccoons (Procyon lotor) seemed as interested in me as I was in them! Raccoons are interesting critters, and I remmember them well from my Missouri childhood. They are frequent visitors to my side yard here in Washington state. Raccoon tracks of ten look like little human handprints! 
