Posts from the ‘Pets’ category

A walk cut short

My tweet (see Snippets of Life to the right) on our walk cut short, prompted several emails and twitter messages so some more detail…

A normal start to a normal walk. It was above freezing and slushy-crusty snow. I stayed on top in snowshoes, but Karl occasionally lost his footing sometimes breaking through snow that is 12-14 inches deep.

I stopped to take some photos of the mountains at about the 1/4 point.

I stopped again just past the 1/2 way mark. While I was stopped the second time and we were in a gulley, Karl headed back a bit – uphill. I thought he just wanted to poke around up there or be where he could see. I started on, called him and he came and took his normal place ahead of me. We had just started when he stopped, laid his ears back and turned around. He kept looking back toward what would be a spot just north of the northeast corner of my property.

I suspect either a gunshot or possibly a distant clap of thunder that I couldn’t hear. While thunder would be unusual, it is not unheard of. According to NOAA an “upper-level” disturbance moved through this morning. Often we will get one clap of thunder as a front passes.

Karl does not like either gunshots or thunder, but has been doing much better with gunshots recently. Thunder is tougher as a loud, unexpected clap startles me also and I’m sure he picks up on that.

I was asked if I thought it was a bear. It is early for bears to be out and he is not frightened of them. He sticks his nose straight up in the air, catches the scent and then barks like crazy – it is a beardog behavior and any time he has done that, we’ve either seen a bear, bear sign or not seen anything else. Deer he smells, sees and chases or barks at. We’ve been close to coyote and he definitely knows they are not dogs. He stays alert but does not act anxious or frightened and does not turn away. I don’t know that we’ve been near wolves or mountain lion. I would expect a similar reaction to wolves as to coyote. Mountain lion is the real question in my mind – that would be the one animal that he might have concern about. But he didn’t act like he smelled anything so I go back to a sound that wasn’t right to him.

Although he was ahead of me and came home at a trot, he stopped repeatedly to check where I was and waited several times for me to get closer. I didn’t call to him, just followed. We came right to the house. He went in and immediately to the bedroom closet which is his safe spot – again, leading me to believe it was a noise. I think if it was an animal, he would have tried to look out the windows once inside.

The only odd thing – he has headed back to the house before when there has been thunder, but has always taken the shortest route. This time, with a straight shot of maybe 400 yards on a path we use every day, he was insistent on going back the way we came – the longest way – and even when we got to the property he did not take one of our direct paths but went to the driveway and then towards the house with caution.

That is the whole story as I know it. I wish he could tell me more! If he’s ready to go out this afternoon, I’ll go out to where he was looking and see if there are any tracks.

This is the point where I now get emails questioning my walking alone in the “wilds” of Montana. My thoughts on that:

With all of the people that are out and about in wilderness areas, there are very few encounters and even less attacks on people.

I walk with respect for the animals and the land. We (humans) are not part of their normal food chain. We get into trouble when we do something that puts them on the defense of themselves or their young or if they are sick and we are opportunity.

I pay attention to wind direction, to sounds, to smells, to Karl’s behavior.

I carry pepper spray, in an easily accessible holster, that I practice with. I don’t have guns as I’m not interested in doing the training I think would be necessary to be proficient enough to bring down a charging wild animal in the heat of the moment. The rangers carry pepper spray, they have guns also, but they recommend and use the spray. It is immediately debilitating to beast (or man) and the “target” will recover.

I love being out in the woods and the quiet – I’m alert and cautious but not fearful.

Freezing fog revisited

More freezing fog, or ice fog and accompanying rime or hoar frost…take your pick on terminology. While the socked in feeling is less than optimal, it is offset by the beauty of the black and white look. All photos are color.

Swamp thing…the frost covered everything and grew on itself.

Yesterday, I went to town on various errands.

The valley floor is 2900 feet above sea level. My property is at almost 3200 feet. It was clearing at home before I left. It was dense fog on the valley floor.

I returned home to find the sun shining. I unloaded, worked a bit, the fog rose.

After sunset it cleared again morphing into a beautiful, starry, moonlit night.

Road Trip

Five years ago…if you had told me that I would someday own an RV and LOVE rving, I would have said you were nuts.

I own an RV and I LOVE rving!

I even love a 200 mile round trip just to take the beast to a dealer for repair. I don’t love needing the repair, but it was operator error ( Damaging steps ) so I can’t blame the rv. I also didn’t “LOVE” the Jeep hookup yesterday as it was 6 below zero while I was doing it. Don’t let that sunshine fool you – it was cold! And things that normally swivel and extend didn’t want to do that. A hammer and a few choice words convinced them otherwise. The good news was that I wasn’t all hot and sweaty after the hookup…

I packed a lunch, my camera, my laptop – loaded Karl…no steps…I’m glad I’ve kept up with my strength training – and off we went. Destination, Missoula – 100 miles south.

The stop light in Bigfork…too bad about that view, huh?

Although cold, it was clear and sunny and a gorgeous day for the drive which skirts Flathead Lake for 35 miles before going through Polson, Montana and then a beautiful valley with the Mission Mountains to the east and the Bitteroots to the West.

Between Bigfork and Polson, I stopped at a pullout along the lake to allow 2 following cars to pass and to do a safety check.

We continued on. I had planned on a lunch stop south of Ronan, but the pullout there was not plowed. I ended up going all the way to the dealer in Missoula and having lunch in their parking lot. I unhooked the Jeep, checked in with service, transferred computer and camera to the Jeep, took a walk with Karl and then we started back towards home.

The Missions were beautiful – loaded with snow. A thin cloud layer lay about a third of the way between their jutting peaks and the valley floor. I didn’t stop – there are times when I just like to look.

**Added 7:30 a.m. 1/27 – I just visited fellow Montana blogger Montucky – he headed to the city yesterday also, albeit from a different direction. His post in the link is a gorgeous capture of the Missions – worth the click!

I did stop at a scenic lookout just before Polson. It is not somewhere I’ve ever stopped before, although it has the first view of the lake and the entrance to the Flathead Valley.

Home is 39 miles north of Polson. We arrived there in time for a walk before sunset.