The Hare-foot Dog

left to right - Hoss, Surley, and Addie - Addie's hind foot, showing the elongated structure

Addie is just 2 weeks off the race track!

I was begining to think I'd never get a hare-footed dog for my project, but Ellen Haas gave me the name of someone who is active in greyhound rescue, and I took a chance, e-mailing a request for help.

Moira Corrigan bravely agreed to meet me with her own 3 greyhounds, 2 she's fostering, and her 10 month old Great Dane, Cheif, too! Anticipating that it might be somewhat crazy, I also asked Shondell Kelly, one of this year's Rezzies, to go along to assist with the measurements.

Moira began by telling me that I might not want to track Hoss, as he's missing a toe...OH Yeah, I wanted to track him, and I'll share those photos later...

The dogs were delighful and we quickly laid down tracks because the weather was a bit uncertain. Shondell proved to be a great scribe, and it's the first time I didn't get my papers wet, sandy, and messed up. Should have thought of that before.

Did I learn anything? Oh yeah - the elongated hare foot has a HUGE gap measurement! This was proof that I'm on the right track with my original idea...It was exciting! Now I have some real data to work with and am so glad I got brave enough to ask - and that Moira was brave enough to respond.

Here's the link to the web site for the rescue group...they are in need of donations, supplies, foster families and forever homes for retired racing greyhounds...www.greyhoundpetsinc.org

Olympic Firsts

Since my last check in I've had some interesting 1sts in my life!

• First and second ferry rides - the Tracking Intensive folks said that Norfolk Lake in Arkansas didn't count! It was really COLD on the deck, but I enjoyed watching the gulls and cormorants! The return trip was the best-sunny and great views of Mt. Baker and Rainier. The Space Needle looked like a toy from the far side of Puget Sound.
• First trip to the Peninsula!
• First time in Olympic National Park!
• First mountain lion tracks! At the Sol Duc area...in snow...It was funny because they were of a size that could have been big bobcat, but as Marcus pointed out, the stride was 3 1/2 feet long.

Wonderful trip, good weather, fun group. I love TI weekends!

Off on Another Adventure!

I'll be leaving in about an hour for the Olympic National Park, yet another place I haven't been!
With luck, we will find tracks of the fisher ( Martes pennanti )...a rare animal that looks somewhat like it's kin, the mink and weasel. I'm hoping for clear tracks, and good weather...right now the sun is shining, but we are about 5 hours and a ferry ride away from the campground. I'll report back next week!

12 and Counting...

I've now tracked 12 dogs for my Tracking Intensive project! Only 88 to go...I think they will have to hold me over and not let me graduate this year. Oh darn, that would be a shame...not.

Here's the list:

• 2 Chihuahuas
• 2 Shih Tzus
• 2 lab mixes
• 1 Basset Hound
• 1 Great Pyrenees
• 1 Boxer mix
• 1 Groenendal mix
• 1 English Springer Spaniel
• 1 Leonberger

It's fun to see how the various breeds move and how their tracks differ...I could spend a lifetime and not get to all 400+ breeds of dog. I have to get busy!

More Bighorn Tracks For Your Enjoyment

It's been over 2 weeks and I'm
still absolutely astounded that
we had such good tracking conditions...This pair of tracks left in the mud may have been a ewe and her yearling - or it might have been a front (larger) and rear track. It's kind of far off to the side to be the front and rear of the same animal. We did see 9 Bighorns (Ovis canadensis) cross the valley ahead of our group. And it's an area that the animals use all the time. These tracks were not crossing the valley, but were going down the trail in the direction of the bridge and parking lot...others were going up the valley trail.
Bighorns are diurnal, meaning that they are active in the daytime. They typically sleep in beds on the hillside, and so I doubt that they gather in the valley at night when people are less likely to be found there.
The canyon is a big draw to hikers, fly fishermen, rockhounds, and dog walkers. I'm surprised - and blessed -that we saw the animals and found so many tracks.

Almost Like Cheating

The WAS Tracking Intensive class went to eastern

Washington this past weekend and had such an awsome time. On Saturday we tracked mule deer at Frenchman's Coulee, and then moved on to Bighorn sheep along the Yakima River.

The weather was sketchy, but we went hoping to find tracks...and as we pulled into the parking lot, we were greeted by this little band of 9. There are a couple of young rams with this group of ewes and last year's young.

We watched as they ran down the hillside and across the valley we were going to be hiking into! It seemed almost unfair to watch them and then go find the fresh tracks...almost, but not quite. How many times do you get to trail 5-minute old Bighorn tracks?

Sex in the Neighborhood

There was a pair of amorous raccoons in the Cedar tree by my bedroom window yesterday.

Clara, my cat, directed my attention out the window...I noticed that she was intent on something - her tail was thumping against the window in irritation.

At first, I only saw the one...and she was not happy that I'd intruded. She's hissing at me...this photo was taken in poor light, so I played with my "fun" options on my Easy Share photo software...I kind of like the cartoon effect, and it seems to fit the situation.

It was a first for me, watching a couple of raccoons go at it in a tree. They were about 25 feet up, and on a precarious-looking limb. Sort of reminiscent of satin sheets on a water bed...

I'm not even going to speculate on what it says about me that I watched...and took pictures. I'm claiming "naturalist curiosity".

Checkin' In...

Spring is trying to come in, but the cars coming down from the hills were topped with a bit of snow this morning.

Otherwise, the early flowers are popping up, and trees are budidng. The afternoon sunshine warms me nicely as I walk up the hill toward home.

Two Sundays ago, I saw the 11th coyote just down hill from my place. He - given the size of the critter, it had to be a male - was sneaking along the tree line at the back of a line of houses. I don't think the woman who came out dressed for church even saw him at the back of her lot. He saw me. We played a game of hide and seek as we both moved up hill. Neither of us bothered the other, but we were aware.

Then, last Friday evening a co-worker and I watched in fear and amazement as coyote number 12 made a mad dash across 3 lanes of rushhour traffic on eastbound I- 90 near Issaquah. We were on the way to Seattle for an event that didn't happen...and just in the right place at the right time to see the foolishly brave animal make his move. It had to be a male, right?

I've never seen a coyote move so fast. Ears back, hunkered down, racing across the highway...I don't kow how he managed to get to the median. As we passed, we had to laugh at the way he shook off the experience like a dog just out of the bathtub. The expression on his face made me wonder if he'd done it for fun. I guess coyotes get spring fever, too.

An Anniversary of Note

It took me a long time today to
realize why I've been in such a
strange mood the past week or
so. As I was preparing a bank
deposit around noon I had to
enter the date, and then it hit me.
February 17 used to be my anniversary. This would have been 30 years...The Ex left in the summer of our 24th year, and the divorce was final just 3 days before our 25th Anniversary...Oh, that's it. That's why I've been unusually distracted and even a little bit ... not sad, exactly... I can't even think of the word that would cover the feeling I've had this past week. There must be one, and I bet my friends Madonna and Sally will e-mail it to me right away. It probably has something to do with moving on.

What I do know is that once I got the connection I put on my coat, and because I now have the sort of job that allows me to do so, I took a long walk...and decided that I needed to mark the occasion in some way. Not a celebration, exactly, but a rememberance of sorts.

There's a grocery store down the street...I wondered around for a while, looking at the
marked-down Valentine's Day candy...that didn't seem exactly right, but I craved something sweet. What I took back to the office to share with my coworkers was a big box of Pepperidge Farm cookies...the Entertaining collection...9 different kinds of cookies...the ones I don't often allow myself. It felt decadent! It felt really good to offer my friends a sweet treat and to be able to tell them why I felt the need to mark the day. Best of all, it felt really good to be able to do it without tears...like the swans in the photo today, I feel like I'm finally moving on.

Wolf Howl Video

The Tracking Intensive class went to Northwest Trek on Sunday, Feb. 15th. It was a great day to be out, as the animals were active...I'll be posting photos on my WebShots page in a few days! Today, I wanted to share the wolf howl I caught on video. I apologize for the camera noise...and the shaky video.

The howling was very exciting! I heard a coyote yip from the nearby pens, and first wolf made a really low, deep howl...that's when I turned on the video. You can hear the coyotes in the background, and they really set the wolves off! Just pretend that you don't see the fence in the background.

Just a Quick Update....

Wow, what a crazy week...I'm putting in late nights at work, but in return I'll have a new QuickBooks file that's going to make life easier in the future. I have to finish tonight because tomorrow is the Community School spaghetti dinner and silent auction.

I'll be there, straight from work and hungry. Last year I got a few cool things at the auction, and the kids made enough money to go to Utah! The photos they took were stunning with the red rocks and sunshine. It's a pleasure to see how hard they work and how happy they are to be able to plan another class trip.

These eagles were right outside the office a few weeks ago...I can't believe how lucky I am to be here. I love that I can run outside on a workday and take a few photos of these magnificent birds.

Tracking Intensive class is this weekend, and we will be learning about animal skulls and on Sunday will go to NorthWest Trek, which is down by Mt. Rainier. It's a long drive, but a cool place to go. It's a rehab center, but some of the animals are permanent residents because they are not well enough to be released.

My WARP class went in mid February in 20o7, and the cougars were mating...loudly...and often. I really enjoyed watching the paniced parents of young children try to pull the kids away once they realized what was going on. Perhaps next week I'll have "dirty" pictures to share.

Just Go Outside

It's a beautiful day in western Washington...I took the morning off and went to Monroe for some errands. It was a real treat to have to find my sunglasses as I headed north. Can't say I got everything done I needed to do, but did hit the used books at the library and added to my pile of "must reads". I do have to be careful that books don't keep me inside too much - It's a great time of year to just go outside.

The big disappointment was that the dog park by the river not only flooded, but seems not to be repaired in the aftermath. I'd hoped to make some connections there and find dogs to add to my Tracking Intensive project...but now I'll have to look elsewhere.

On a happier note, I was able to pick up enough Black Cottonwood (Populus nigra) buds to start a new batch of oil for making salve in the fall.

Just to spend a little while outside in the sun was fabulous! I've also noticed that the evening sky stays light a little bit longer - I'm so happy that spring is getting a little closer each day!

A Nice Surprise Today!

It's always nice to find a package in the mail! Today I got one of my favorite gifts - a book. My friend Madonna sent me a second editon copy of "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien. It's a wonderful book, and one I haven't read in many a year. I'm delighted to have it, and will enjoy it all over again.


It's the second book she's sent me recently. "The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging" by Arianna Huffington and friends arrived in time for my birthday although she mailed it from St. Louis on December 12th. Given our record snows in December I'm surprised it's not still in a drift somewhere. It's a good book, and I have been using some of her hints in this blog. Madonna says I'm going to get rich off it someday. I could live with that. It's a great book if you are thinking about starting your own blog. You might want to check it out.


I've recieved other books as gifts this year, too...One of them I'll feature in another "episode" of my blog because it's a cool naturalist/travel book from my friend Laurie.

My Vision for the Dog Tracking Photos

This was Jackson, my last dog, and his tracks in the snow...It would be better if he was standing and outside, but you can see his body type, and his feet are visible...the track photo is not bad. The pink ruler stands out, and there are both front and back tracks in the picture. Can you tell which is which?

Jackson was a 40 pound mixed breed - my vet though Shar Pei and Jack Russell among other things...Don't ever do that on purpose! He was healthy, except that he was born with a shallow right hip socket, which caused muscle loss and pain in that hip. He limped badly when tired.

I think it will be fun to see how many dog and dog track photos we can collect in one place...we might even learn something. If your dog has any type of foot, leg, hip or shoulder injury or disease, please mention it, as we might see it in the tracks!

To be included in the experiment, send photos as a jpeg attachment in an e-mail to me at possum59@yahoo.com ...

I'll start putting them up as they come in.

The Domestic Dog Tracking Project

I've been wondering if anyone would like to play along with my Tracking Intensive project...Here's what I have in mind.

What if I invited you to take a photo of your dog and a photo of your dog's track?Would you e-mail them to me so that I could put them in a photo album on our new school "Village" web site? It might be fun to see a bunch of dogs and their tracks all in one spot.

Tomorrow, I'll have an example of what I'd like to see you send. I'm thinking a full body shot of the dog (no people - I'm not tracking people) and a good close up of the dog's tracks, preferably with something for scale - a penny works great if you don't have a ruler in your camera bag.

Is anyone interested? Let me know!

Substrate Happens

I bet you never thought you'd

be looking at a photo of cow

poop on my blog...

In tracker lingo, it's scat, not poop. In this

case, it's the only trackable substrate I found in Arkansas last week. Apparently the rainy season here in the Seattle area is not the rainy season 3 hours northeast of Little Rock.

My sister promised the opportunity to track armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) while visiting...I was excited because they are unlike any other North American mammal, and are the only living member of their family Cingulata. They are native to Central America, but have moved up through the Southern states. The order Xenarthra also contains anteaters and sloths...none of which I'll get to track in the Pacific Northwest.

This is not the track of an armadillo...I didn't see anything that I could identify as such...the red clay, rocky soil was too dry for me to see anything resembling armadillo tracks. I did find this nice front and back track of another Midwest mammal. Can you guess what it is? I believe a fat groundhog, or woodchuck (Marmota monax),passed through this nice round bit of "substrate" before it was completely dry. The closest thing I'll see here in Washington is a Marmot (yellowbellied or hoary), so it's still a cool track photo to have in my collection.

Travels of a Tracker

So here's the story I've been wanting to
tell for a couple of weeks, but couldn't.

My old Missouri friends sent me a surprise for my
birthday, and I couldn't blog about it because I didn't
know if my Mom reads my blog or not....and my sister and I have been planning a surprise 70th birthday party for her for months. She thought it was a party for Andrew, my great-nephew who turned 6 on the 5th!

My hospital co-workers sent me a banner that nearly 50 people had signed with good wishes and kind thoughts...They also collected $110 in one and five dollar bills to help me get to Arksansas for the party! I'm not the "msuhy" type, but their kindness nearly made me cry. I had been a bit worried about how I would eat on the trip...the tickets were bought, but I would be short on traveling money. You could say that it really met a need!

I flew out of Seattle just ahead of a storm that would cause record flooding in my part of the state, and which would have kept me from going at all if my flight had been 24 hours later. It was a bumpy ride out of SeaTac, and my seatmate was a twitchy fellow who wanted to talk all the way to Dallas/Ft.Worth. I hoped to sleep on that part of the trip because we left just after midnight, and I had worked most of Tuesday and was tired.

There was a 2 hour delay while our pilot to Little Rock found a plane that he liked - I'm not complaining...if the pilot doesn't trust it, I don't want to be in it. I was really gald to see my sister Susan at the gate.

It's still a 3 hour drive to Violet Hill, where she and Mom live, so we stopped to have a bit of dinner on the way. Out here in Washington, they call it lunch, but I always had breakfast, dinner and supper, so that's what we had. It's been a while since I enjoyed steak and loaded smashed potatoes with sweet tea...I have to say that Pacific Northwest cooking doesn't come close to Southern meals...I miss the food more than I realized.

Mom was truly surprised...and happy. We had a big combined birthday party for the two of us and the 6 year old. I bet that Andrew still has blue lips from the frosting on the cupcakes!

On Thursday, Mom followed me around for a couple of hours while I tracked 4 more dogs, and found groundhog tracks in a cow pie in the pasture. We spooked a whitetail doe from the old slave cemetary . No armadillos or tracks were found, much to my dismay. Susan had promised I'd see and/or track them, but the ground was dry, hard and rocky, and we didn't even see any road-killed ones to check out.

Since Tracking Intensive class was this weekend, I flew home on Friday. About 130 miles out from Seattle, the pilot noted that we could see Mounts Rainier, Adams, St. Hellens and Hood all lined up against the horizon! What a beautiful welcome home it was.

Saturday we learned about bird feathers, and on Sunday we played in silt under bridges at Fall City and Carnation...one thing about floods is that the tracking is really good when the water goes down. Look for more photos soon!

"Happy Birthday" as sung by the coyote choir

January 3rd was my 50th birthday. I celebrated by taking a long walk in McCormick Park. The path was still quite icy and I walked really slowly, enjoying the bird activity. Only the Stellar's Jays had been active in my neighborhood, and the robins I'd seen earlier in the week looked so stressed by the cold and snow that I worried about their survival.

I saw several small flocks of Trumpeter Swans, and was able to get one quick photo before they flew out of range. The Chickadees were busy and entertaining. I spooked a flock of Mallards off the water, and watched a noisy Kingfisher fly past.

The highlight of the walk came when the fire department sirens went off. A coyote howled from the brush on the hillside to my left! More than one, but probably fewer than 5 answered from my right...it sounded as if I was surrounded by coyotes! It was the best verse of "Happy Birthday" I've ever been privileged to hear.

I walked a bit further and saw coyote # 10, the lone voice on my left. He was limping, but still actively hunting the hillside. I wondered if he'd hurt himself on the ice...I was limping a bit myself, having slipped (again) on an icy patch. He lives close to the highway, with cars always a danger, and at least one frequent dog walker braggs about letting her labs chase the coyotes in that stretch of park. Whatever the reason for his injury, he looked in good condition...I hope to see him again soon.

It Can Stop Snowing Now...

I got out for a walk this morning for the first time in a couple of days...except for a short hike to the Post Office on Christmas Eve, I haven't left my apartment since Monday.
I've heard on the Seattle area newscasts that this is only the 10th white Christmas in this area since 1891...seems like we got ALL the snow that was allotted to us in the past 12 days or so. Looking out my window onto the roof line below, there's easily 12-14 inches of powdery white stuff piled up there.

At first I was excited, because the dog tracking project seemed to take off...but then the neighbors stopped walking their dogs down the street. I've been there...when it's too cold or the snow is just too deep to be fun, the dog walks stay pretty close to the front door. And I've found it to be unsafe to be crawling around in the snow at the edge of the road trying to measure tracks as cars slide by.

I've just called in to Ben Franklin at Monroe, and found that I'm not on the schedule for this weekend! I missed working Sunday because I can't find a safe way to get down to highway 203. As much as I hated to call in, I was afraid to try to make it down the hill to the highway. 25 years of working at a hospital where calling in was not an option makes you want to try no matter how stupid, but I'm glad I've learned this: It's not worth risking your life or your car for a few dollars more in the paycheck at the end of the week. I don't think I could have said that before my Residential Program year....funny how the most important lessons you learn are the ones you don't even realize you were enrolled in.

Yikes!

This is a short but sadly funny comment...As I will be turning 50 on January 3rd, I suppose it should not have been a surprise to get a letter from AARP. Somehow, it just seems wrong to wind up on this mailing list. I don't know if I should be mad or sad. I don't feel older than, say 47 or 48. And what makes them think I'll be able to retire, anyway? Probably the smartest thing I've ever done was to cash in my retirement fund and come to the Residential Program. Given the current ecomomic news, it seems smarter than ever...but I'm wondering, will anyone of my generation and ecomomic status ever really be able to retire? Right now it does not look likely. But I'm so thankful that I took the money and ran when I did...I wouldn't have the option now.

Almost Missouri Cold!

Wow! This is the first time since I got here in Sept. 2006 that we've had anything approaching Missouri cold...It's really beautiful, and I walked to work today in a foot of snow! It just snowed like crazy yesterday, and I took a snow day...I tracked dogs #2 and # 3 in my driveway. It was really funny to see the neighbors come along. At first they thought I'd fallen, and would start over to see if I was OK. But then, they realized that I'm down measuring things in the snow...that's when they would veer away and look around as if my keeper must have let me out of sight. Once I explained my project, everyone thougt it was kind of cool. I'm off tomorrow, too. I should have lots of tracks by the end of next week, as the office is closed and I can track every day but Sunday...if I'm able to get down to the highway and get into Monroe...now there's a high wind warning. In 06, it looked like Christmas had exploded! Trees were down and power out for a couple of weeks in some places...I have plenty of food, so no worries there, but it could be scary if it's as windy as they say it might be.

Holiday Greetings!

Those of you who know me well will be surprised to hear that I invited a friend over last night for stew and Christmas movies. You might not be so surprised to hear that the movies were "Die Hard" and "Lethal Weapon".
With luck, that will be the end of my holiday celebrations. With family half way across the country, I won't have to go "visit" and I won't be sad about that either.

I'm looking forward to a quiet holiday, hot tea, good book and contented cat by my side. Likely, I'll have to turn down a few invitations, and most people don't get that I'm happy to stay home on the holidays. I want to work on some crafty type projecst, and perhaps do some dog tracking at the park on Christmas morning.

With a bit more luck, I'll be able to pay my car off a couple of months early and then look at quiting the weekend job! That will give me time and energy to work on the dog tracking project for my Tracking Intensive class. I can't wait to get going on that...the Basset Hound really got me excited about what I might learn about dog tracks.

Dog #1

This is Beba, a lovely and exuberant Basset Hound. She's 2 years old, and weighs 44 pounds. You could say that she "volunteered" for my project. She saw me coming from about 200 yards, and began wagging her entire body, hoping I'd come and talk to her! Once I'd explained my project, her owner readily agreed to come to the sandy beach and lay down some tracks for me...I'll bet no one ever mistakes these for coyote tracks!

Dog Tracking Update to Come...and Another Coyote

I forgot to bring in my photos to share...will get them up tomorrow, along with a story about tracking a Basset Hound!

I've about lost track of the coyote count...is it # 9 I saw today? I had to run into Monroe for Ben Franklin's Christmas breakfast early today...We shared a nice breakfast at Ixtapa, and I won a prize! On the way back in the fog, I saw another coyote standing at the edge of the highway just north of Duvall. Pretty cool! I'm astounded by my good luck today.

The Domestic Dog Tracking Project

Today I'm going to McCormick Park to start my Tracking Intensive project. If you hear news reports of a crazy woman accosting dog walkers in Duvall, it will probably be me.

I've been busy creating a plan, a worksheet, and a letter explaining who I am and why I want to take photos of dogs and measure their tracks. Today, I'll find out if it works.

My goal is to record measurements on 100 dogs before the project is due in May. If I could do it without taking any measurements at all, I would. But, as my friend Jonathan pointed out, it would be impossible to re-create the project later, so I may as well take all the measurements anyone will ever want to know.

Jim Halfpenny has set the standard for tracking dogs, and so I'm going to be taking 15 measurements on each set of tracks...times 3, and then getting an average value for each of the 15 measurements. And I'll be using the metric system instead of the more comfortable inches...

That's assuming I can actually talk people into going to the sandy beach area along the river. I'm not sure I'd have fallen for the "school project" story when I was walking my dog. It should be interesting to see what happens.

Hunters after the Flood

I had an unexpected day off on Saturday, and so took a walk along the path at McCormick park. I couldn't go far, as water was still up to the 2nd highest strand of wire at the low spot where the farm road crosses just north of the Safeway lot.

I didn't have to go any further - there was a fair bit of wildlife out enjoying the sunshine and mellow fall temperatures. I saw this pair of hunting coyotes - numbers 7 and 8 - on the backside of the open field just about 6 city blocks below my apartment. They knew I was on the bridge, and moved out of sight, but not before I got a dozen pictures! What a cool sight...even though there were a number of people and dogs out on the path, no one else noticed them.

The coyotes (Canis latrans) looked fat and in good conditon, probably since the small mammal population had been disrupted by the flooding. The vole was just a few hundred yards down the path. I still have to look up the species...I'm not so confident of my vole ID.

I saw several of them along the path. They would come out of the piles of dry leaves after someone had passed by. But, as soon as I moved in to get a photo, back in the leaf piles they would go. My shadow spooked a couple of them, and I only got photos of the spot where one had been just seconds before. Then, I got smart. I waited in one spot with camera ready as a jogger passed by. As soon as she was gone, this little critter came out into the sunshine and I got several pics of it as well. I expect that jumpiness pays off with the coyotes so near.

As I was leaving the park, one of the coyotes had retuned to the place I'd first seen them. I took a few more photos, then, one hunter to another, I wished it well and moved on.

What a Place to Work!

Monday is an all-day Staff Dirt Time day. I'm required to leave the office, go up to our land, and spend the morning working on - whatever. Not a skill they think I need to learn - just whatever nature skill I feel called to practice. It can be one I'm good at - basket-making, perhaps, or one I struggle with. My choice. How cool is that?

It cracks me up to think of the hospital telling me that I have to take a day off to play, with pay. The entire staff will be there. No one left at the office to answer the phone. No one going to the bank or the post office. Since nature mentoring is such an important part of the job here, they build time into the schedule to practice the skills and to mentor each other. Even those of us with office jobs are expected and encouraged to learn and share the skills of the naturalist.

I will be pulling out my bow-drill kit and working on fire. I haven't tried to get a coal since the Residential Program. I might go over to our new parcel of land and explore for a while, or I might do a bit of flintknapping. I might take a walk in the Enchanted Forest and look for this guy. We saw him Sunday during Tracking Intensive. Perhaps I'll see another coyote.

Since a number of us are interested, we will be carpooling into Seattle in the afternoon to listen to a cougar predation presentation at the University of Washington. I love this job! And I realize how truly blessed I am to be able to say that.

Trailing Elk

We had a guest instructor at Tracking Intensive this past weekend. Brian McConnel joined Dave Moskowitz in leading us through a day of trailing elk in the mountains just east of Snoqaulmie Pass.

There had been some lowland flooding on Friday, and more rain on the way, so starting out in the dark was a little scary. The Carnation to Fall City area seems to flood quicker than Duvall, and the web site to check King County road conditons was down. Although the rivers were up, we didn't find any road closures and crossed the pass without incident.

The Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa) forest lacked the dense ground cover of ferns that I've become acustomed to here in our Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophyll) forest of the western slopes of the Cascades. I thought finding elk (Cervus canadensis) would be easy. Of course with 8 students and 2 instructors, we were not going to sneak up on anything.

We were successful in finding fresh elk tracks, and each of us had a turn in the lead as we trailed them through the woods. Along the way we found many varieties of mushrooms and fungi, including a deadly Amanitas variety that Brian pointed out to us. Some of them were beautiful, others just slimy and weird-looking.

We got close enough to elk to spook a couple of them, which some of us heard crashing through the brush, then we found the muddy tracks and scattered leaves they left to entice us! Go to my WebShots page to see more photos.

An Early Morning Gift

I stopped at the intersection before stepping out onto the road and looked to the left for traffic, then to the ...wait a minute...what's that? My head swiveled back to the left and there it was! Coyote number 6 was trotting up the hill about a block from my apartment. Given the location, it's likely the same animal as Coyote number 4, and the one who leaves scat on the sidewalks around the wooded area where a dry stream bed wonders down the hill toward Highway 203.

I reached for my camera, but before I could get it out of the bag and turned on, the coyote had disappeared into the blackberry bramble. It stopped to look at me first, and without any apparent fear or distress, it vanished. Cool!

I crossed the street and started to trail it...and found a bit of fresh animal skin that looked a lot like what was left of someone's black cat. Then I realized I'd be late for work if I didn't turn around.

Now, Wilderness Awareness School is one of the few workplaces where you can get away with being late because you were trailing an animal. However, I knew I had payroll and taxes to deal with, so I went on to work. But now that I've seen it I'll be out early with camera ready, and I'll get a picture of it yet.

Our Tax Dollars at Work, or As Close to a Political Rant as You'll Get From Me

I had to laugh at a political advertisement I saw on TV the other day. The message was that I should vote for the candidate because her opponent had not managed to pass a bill during his time in office. That's the guy I want...it means that he didn't raise my taxes or make any new laws that will complicate my life. Let me explain...
Some years back I was late to work because the power went out for a while, and my alarm clock failed. I bought a new clock...a fancy one that re-sets it's self when the power goes out. It also corrects for Daylight Savings Time...or at least it did. Then Congress changed the dates of the changes, and my new clock now causes more problems than it solved. Instead of having to deal with the "Spring forward, Fall back" stuff twice a year, I now have to do it four times. Here's what happens...

My clock is still on the 'before Congress complicated things' time. I can't just change the time to make it right...I have to change my time zone. And then remeber to set it back - or is it forward?

I've never understood the whole Daylight Savings Time switcheroo anyway. I've never been able to explain it to a dog, either. It just doesn't make any sense to change the clocks twice a year - or 4 times if you have a fancy clock. The only reason we do it is because Congress tried to fix something that wasn't really broken in the first place. Why can't we all just re-learn to live with nature's time? We could throw away the clocks all together if we did that.

October Tracking Intensive Class

My stupid, contrary, dumb, un-cooperative, and annoying computer rebelled, and I could not open the disk that contained my Tracking Intensive photos...I kept getting the message that "the administrator has blocked access to the CD/ROM ". I'm the administrator for my computer! Stupid computer!

We had a wonderful, sunny, and productive weekend at the Potholes and along the Columbia River near Vantage. It's so strange to cross the Cascades and suddenly be in high desert with sagebrush and sand. I love the contrast to our side of the mountains. And being able to see for miles is fun! This picture is near the river just outside of Vantage, with the high basalt rock walls opposite. Truly, I took both pictures from the same spot, just turning my body to get the shots.

Dave's group found a terrific sandy beach along the river with raccoon, coyote, beaver, and Canada goose tracks in the damp sand! We made plaster casts, and I found it really tough to decide what to cast. The coyote tracks sometimes paralleled the raccoon or beaver tracks. It would have been possible to get both critters in a large cast. I chose a nice set of beaver tracks, as my Dad made his winter money by trapping when I was a kid.

I'll be putting more Tracking Intensive pics up on my WebShots page, so go check them out!

Tracking we will go...

It's 5:26 am, and I'm here at the office waiting for the rest of my Tracking Intensive classmates to arrive. We are off to the Potholes today!
The weather is supposed to be lovely, and there's no telling what we will find to track. Stories later...

Ellen's Coyote (#5)

"Look, there's a coyote!" I almost immediatly regretted my words because Ellen threw on the brakes...and started backing up on the narrow, curvy road.

We were on the way up to Cedar Lodge to meet the new class of Residential students. Ellen was driving because I really hate to, and it was likely that there would be lots of cars in the parking lot.

It was the 5th coyote I've seen in recent months, and it hung around long enough for me to get a few pictures...not that I can prove it. I put them on a disk last night, but evidently grabed a blank one on my way out the door.

Ellen Haas is one of my bosses at Wilderness Awareness School, and one of the aouthors of "Coyote's Guide" our book that is coming out any day now. Ellen says she's only ever seen one other wild coyote, so it seems especially significant that we saw this one last night.

With luck, I'll be able to show you the pics tomorrow.

The Big Reunion....

Wow, we had a great Labor Day weekend at the River Ranch Girl Scout Camp at Carnation, Washington. The weather was mostly lovely, the food incredible, and the company was outstanding.

(This is my boss at the staff meeting. Sorry Warren, I could not resist.)

It's so nice to meet the office legends and put a face to the people I've exchanged e-mails or phone conversations with!

Listening to Jon Young, Jake Swamp and Paul Raphael speak was inspiring. I've always known that what we do here is important, but now I understand that it's WAY bigger than I realized.

It's really cool to hear how the school got started from those who were there, and also really cool to see how far it's come.

"Coyote's Guide", our book that lays out the teaching method we use here is coming out in a few days! I expect that it's going to be a big thing. Look for more info shortly on that.

The Big Lie

I thought I'd lead off with a story, but my friend Margaret wants the confession, so I'm going to tell you about the biggest lie I ever told...and pretty near the only one of any consequence that's not some version of "It's fine, every thing's fine, I'M FINE!"

This story is about how a lie becomes a family legend, and how 4 people can be in the same place, see and hear the same things and come to 4 very different conclusions.

To set the stage, you have to read what follows with a hillbilly accent. I'll try to help...

I was born near Caplinger Mills, Missouri, which is more or less in the center of a triangle drawn from Stockton to ElDorado Springs to Humansville...OK, make that Kansas City, St. Louis and Little Rock, Arkansas. We lived on a farm pretty much in the middle of nowhere.

I'm 2 years older than my brother, and 8 years older than my sister, who was an infant at the time of the Big Lie. She was born on Thanksgiving day, and so I'm guessing that the incident took place in December or January. I don't recall a Christmas tree, so it was probably just after the first of the new year.

In the mid to late 60's there were quite a few stories of UFO's and cattle mutilations and the like going around. My Mom saw a UFO that winter. She thinks I saw one, too. Every now and then, she'll look up at me...she's 4'11" tall, and say, "I saw a flyin' saucer once...you were probably too young to remember, but you saw one, too." I've never told her the truth, but I do remember the night in question well...so here's the confession.

Mom always described what she saw out our back window and across the field as a big saucer -shaped object that moved up and down, right and left over the landscape with lights changing from yellow to red to green. Our neighbor a mile away claimed to see it, too. I don't think Dad ever did believe it.

On that night, probably a Saturday night, because my parents were watching wrestling (that's wrasslin in hillbilly) on the black and white TV. It was later than Jim and I were usually allowed to stay up. My sister was sleeping in her crib. Dad told us it was time to go to bed.

Now here's the part that got us into trouble. Do you remember the Green Giant commercials that were on back then? The one with the deep voice singing "Ho ho ho Green Giant!"? That's what was on TV as we went toward the room we shared. And we went stomping and singing along with the TV. I think we got to the 2nd "HO" when Mom yelled for us to be quite before we woke the baby up, and Dad came up out of his chair and started for us.

We were fixin to get a whuppin. One I didn't think we deserved. The window over my bed looked out over the same field where Mom had seen the UFO. In the time it took Dad to round the corner, I decided to lie. "There's a flying saucer," I said.

"Where? Did you see it, too?", Dad asked. My brother, who always was a quick study nodded his head and pointed out the window. Dad said, "Put your shoes on and get in the truck." He went and got the rifle as Mom wrapped my sister up in her blanket.

It was one of those clear, cold, dark nights when the grass gets crunchy with frost before midnight, and the stars are so bright they look like bits of broken glass on black velvet. We all piled into the cab of Dad's old red and white pickup and went to look for the UFO. I don't know what would have happened if we'd found one. I don't know how far we drove, or how long we were out. The inside of the windshield got frosty with our breaths.

To my Mom, I became "the girl who saw the flying saucer", someone who verified her own sighting some time earlier. For the rest of his life, my Dad looked at me with suspicion. I don't think he ever did believe...I think my brother was impressed by my quick thinking and my solution to our problem. I think he started to admire me a little that night. If he ever wondered what I did see out that window, he hasn't ever asked. My sister was too young to have an opinion, but I did promise 4 versions of what happened that night.

What I brought away was that sometimes a good story properly told will keep you out of trouble. I learned that I had the ability to make something up, and to profit from it. I learned that I was a writer. After all, that's what writing is - making stuff up and telling lies.

Yikes!

So as I'm getting ready to leave work, I realize it's been a while since I've checked in...Lots of cool stuff is happening right now, and I don't even have time to tell the best stories...

Not having a phone has really had a negative impact on my keeping up with friends, this blog, and my writing....Not having a phone is a blessing because I'm not spending hours in front of the computer at home. I am releaved not to be getting calls for other people (Jesse, whoever he is didn't let his friends and family know his new number for the entire 14 months I had my last number).

I love not having a phone in the house...and I hate that I end up not checking in with my friends.

Just so you know, I haven't forgotten you...I have some cool pics to share, great stories to tell, and at least one confession to make...and on that note, I'm running out the door!

The Promised Pics!

I'm so excited that it's working today because I really wanted to show off a couple of recent pics.

Here's the heron I told you about earlier...I love these big goofy birds. And I saw these beauties on my way to work one recent morning...I thought the spots would be gone by now, but this was late july, and the baby is really spotted...so pretty and delicate...Enjoy!

Big Fish

For those of you who thought I don't know that a Bullfrog is an amphibian and not a reptile, give yourselves 30 points for noticing...Writers need editors, and mine was asleep at the keyboard.

My vacation adventures continued and I feel really lucky to have seen a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodius) catch a fish that was almost too big for it to swallow! I often see the big bird at McCormick Park and have taken many, many pictures of it. Some of them have even been good. I've watched it hunting and have missed the chance to get a pic of it diving after fish.

On Thursday afternoon, I was there with the camera when I noticed the critter was stalking it's prey. As I shot pics, it sank deeper into the water and slowly stretched out it's neck...and I missed the shot of the dive.

It came up with a fish - a big fish - and moved to shore. From the far bank, I took picture after picture as it tried to figure out how to eat the fish...I could see the fish flopping and watched the bird try to maneuver it into position...The bird paced the shoreline, shook the fish, used it's feet to try to turn it...The fish continued to flop.

Many pics later, and after I started to fear that the bird would choke on it's meal, it finally managed to swallow the fish. What a lucky time to be passing by with a camera!

I am trying to upload some pics, but there are "errors" so I'll try again later.

9.2 Miles

So yesterday after my early morning neck adjustment, I stopped at Tressa's and had a cup of Chia tea and a wonderful blackberry/cream cheese scone. Then I hit the trail at McCormick Park for a short walk...

Instead, I wound up walking all the way to Carnation on the Snoqualmie Valley Trail. I didn't plan to go that far. But I did have a water bottle and a protein bar, so when I got to the highway where I generally turn around...I just kept walking. Sorta reminded me of Forset Gump when he ran across the USA. Every time I decided to turn back, I'd see something interesting ahead and I just kept going...

So, how long did it take me to walk 9.2 miles? 3 1/2 hours.

How many cool animal sightings did I have? Zero...unless you count the undetermined small rodent that crossed my path.

How many cool birds did I see? Let's see...at least 5 varieties of duck, Canada geese, Great Blue Heron, 2 hawks (one I heard, and just barely saw as it flew behind me - the other was beautiful. I wish my hawk ID was good. It was large, dark, and as it lifted off the ground, I noticed the really beautiful rusty reddish brown leggings.) There were lots of smaller birds of course, most of which I noticed then passed by without stopping to appreciate.

Reptiles? Oh yeah! I heard one big Bullfrog, and saw 11 Garter snakes...Eleven!

How many times did I think I heard a bear? Just one, but it gave me a scare. I hadn't planned to hike so far...I was alone...no one knew where I was, or when I was supposed to be back...Not very good hiker behavior. I had my cell phone, but could not tell exactly where I was at any given time...I did take note of the few signs I saw along the way. "I'm south of the Oxbow Farm sign", I could tell them...how far would not be more than a guess.

How long did I sit at the bus stop in Carnation before I caught one headed to Duvall?
About 3 1/2 hours...I could have gotten home nearly as fast if I'd walked back. Next time I'll ride to Carnation and hike back. Preferably with friends.

Funniest sight along the way? Where the trail crosses Highway 203 - the major north-south route in the area. There's a BIG yellow sign that cautions hikers to "LOOK BEFORE CROSSING"

Was it fun? You bet!

4 Days Off!

I've had 4 days off! In a row...it was wonderful to sleep late, take long walks - and naps. I ate lots of ice cream (Breyer's peach and mint chocolate chip), had some quality time with the cat, went to the library, and stopped in the local quilt shop to talk about the "get to know us" evening they offer each month.

I kept my twice-weekly appointments with my Chiropractor. Dr. Metcalf keeps me in shape to do the walking. I've hardly taken any over-the-counter pain meds since I started seeing him in February. The shoulder pain I've had for years responds well to regular adjustments. My first experience with Chiropractors back in Missouri brought relief to the old neck injury, but I'd put off finding someone here until I'd irritated my neck again. After an early morning adustment, I walked down to McCormick Park.

If the stupid swallows had cooperated, I'd have some cool pics to show you...what I got were pics of sand, and grass, and gravel. Those little birds fly FAST!

All in all, it was a great vacation - and I have the whole week of July 28th-Aug 1 off, too!

Gone...

I didn't realize it had been so long since I'd checked in...It's been a pretty strange time for me.

I realized a couple of weeks ago that my friend Van had a birthday on July 3rd. Then I remembered that he'd taken his life last fall. That got me thinking about two other good friends that I've lost in the past couple of years.

Sid was a great guy - one of the first to let me know that it was cool to be a girl who wanted to hunt and shoot. He was a Missouri Highway Patrolman for 30 years, and that was after he'd survived Vietnam. Just after he became our Sheriff, he suffered a heartattack, and spent the final year of his life waitning for a transplant. He died of a massive infection just before he was suposed to come home. Van was a mutal friend. This happened a few months before I found Wilderness Awareness School and came west.

Steve was another guy I worked with for a long time. He helped me bury two old dogs, and gave me a Leatherman tool as a going away present. Van was the one who called to tell me that Steve had died. He had a really warped sense of humor, and liked John Wayne movies.


I miss all three of them. They were all suportive of my outdoor pursuits, even when I beat them at skeet or got a bigger turkey. They were like my brothers, and I miss them.

The 4th Coyote

He was loping up the hillside from Highway 203 to the tall grass at the edge of the road near where I live...As I've often noticed about wild animals, he didn't pay much attention to me - until I took my foot off the gas pedal. I hadn't even started to break, although the stop sign was coming up fast, and I've seen the occasional police car in that very same spot. He went into high gear, ears back, and disappeared. Like smoke.

I was heading to the laundromat early on a Sunday morning to do my weekly chores when I saw him. I remembered Filip's comment that I should sing the Wolf Honoring Song to the next coyote I saw but my Lakota is pretty bad, and my singing is awful so I just spoke the words out loud.

"Around the edge I am walking..." That's where the coyotes stay. Edges. I wonder if that has significance for me? Are my frequent coyote sightings this spring about edges? I've been living on my edges since I came west. And I mostly love it.

Coyotes do well on the edge. I've been doing well, too. Perhaps they are the welcoming committee. I expect I'll be seeing more of them.

WARPed!

Here's what happens when you've been WARPed....I let fellow WARP07 grad Laura Hersh paint my face at graduation on Saturday. It was my first face-painting adventure.

Pretty cool, huh? Who would have expected such wild behavior from me? Nobody...that's who.

That's why I'm particularly happy to have taken the chance and changed my life. It's very empowering to do something that you don't think you can - and that no one expects. Change is good.

As I listened to WARP08 spokesperson Carolyn Temes tell of her adventures, I realized that it's neccessary to do wild and crazy things. She's about my age, and struggled with the program, as I did. She came through it with class and courage. I hope I did as well.

It's a grand thing to take on an adventure that some folks think is too risky, too wild, too crazy. It's a grander thing to come out the other side with the confidence that success brings.

As I watched Carolyn introduce her family to her clan, I saw that her sister, her husband, and both her children were looking at her with respect and awe. That's a good thing.

Life brings changes, challenges and opportunities. Take 'em on...

Graduation Tomorrow!

It's really hard to believe that the class of WARP08 graduates tomorrow. It's been really interesting to watch from the other side...I'd love to do it again with the benefit of knowing how the
year would change me...change my life. I think I'd have enjoyed it more if I'd known how it would turn out.

On the other hand, the not knowing had great value for me...and I expect I'd have chickened out if I knew all that would happen in my WARP year. It's been hard not to tell some of my stories, and I know that the best ones would stop some people from coming to check out the program. The very best ones are only shared with those who have been here...

The pendants on the rock were made by staff and former WARPies while the current class was off on survival trip...The cedar wood was collected, shaped and polished by instructors and WARP grads. The cordage was made (reverse wrapped) by 5 women who have done the program...It's nettle and dogbane. I think it turned out well. We felt just a little guilty sitting in Angie's kitchen sharing snacks and wine while the "kids" were out in the woods. Just a little...we knew they'd be fine. And they were.

Tomorrow the community will throw a party in their honor. The class of 08 will then go out into the world to make a difference. I can't wait to see what they accomplish!

Memories, Part 2

As I mentioned last week, the current crop of Residential students have made it through the year (including scout camp and survival trip) and will be graduating on Saturday.

It does not seem possible that it's been a full year since I did it. When I look back, I don't recognize the woman who came here from Missouri. She does not exist. I wish it was possible to show you the differences...you will just have to trust me on it.

I love my job in the office here at WAS. I would never have guessed that I'd be happily living in Washington, working with the coolest people I've ever met. Life is good. I just got the OK to do the Tracking Intensive this fall...which means I'll get out more and have further adventures. I love that tracking is one of the key elements of what we do here. It's really, really nice to work with people who get excited about the simplest of things...tracks in the mud, a photo of a Grossbeak on her nest, a bone found on the sandbar...For most of my life, those around me thought it strange that those things matter. Here, it matters a lot. And that's probably the thing that made the difference for me. The things that get me excited matter to everyone I work with and most of the people who walk in the door or call on the phone. Life IS good.