• animals

    They’re Good Neighbors

    I seldom saw rabbits around my condo when I moved in over 20 years ago. But, over the past couple of years we’ve started to see more of them. My guess is the overgrowth of trees and shrubs around the holding ponds now provides a good habitat for them. They do not play loud music, take up a parking spot, throw wild parties, raise hell or smoke. Nor do I have a vegetable or flower garden to defend from them. They’re good neighbors and I like having them as neighbors. And, Happy June 1st!

  • clouds,  horizons,  landscape,  mountains

    Trust Me…

    This was taken north of Rock Springs, Wyoming along US Highway 191 on my trip to West Yellowstone last month. A lot of open sagebrush, no trees and almost endless blue sky. You can see for miles and the sagebrush dominates the landscape. You may look at this and think of it as a barren and desolate place, especially if you’re from anywhere east of the Mississippi where trees abound. And when you stop to take in this view you won’t believe the silence that surrounds you. But, even though it is a rugged and harsh environment what you see is a complex of ecosystem. These sagebrush ecosystems provide important food and cover for mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, and especially winter habitat for big game species and other wildlife. So probably somewhere in this image is a Black-footed Ferret, Great Basin Gopher Snake, White-tailed Prairie Dog, Greater Short-horned Lizard, Red-tailed hawk or Sage Thrasher. And trust me, somewhere in there is an ant or two or three…