Teri J Pieper

Author Archives: Teri J Pieper

On the Side of the Road

Yesterday as I returned from a meeting on a bluebird day, I noticed a flock of Common Ravens near the side of the road. Not only were the birds next to the road, there was a pullout. As I slowed down (fortunately there was no one behind me) I could see at least two Bald Eagles in the group. Unseen to me, there must have been a roadkill behind the snowbank. As my car approached the group, the ravens all flew off. I was able to drive into the wide spot off the side of the road and watch and photograph the eagle for a few minutes before it decided that I was intruding on its space and it flew off, although it didn’t go far. As I drove away, I could see it in my rear view mirror, returning to the roadkill.

Dogs of December

Hurricane Molly, aka Red Molly, now almost 18 months old, came to stay with us for ten days in December. Ken was pretty nervous about having her for so long but by the time she went home, he had to admit that she is a lot of fun. That dog never knows a sad moment, never gets mad, never feels pain, never runs out of energy. No matter how active she is, she is ready for more. Our dogs were pretty well exhausted by the time she left. Sky pushed her into the snow time and time again, grabbed her by the throat repeatedly and she still came back for more. She loves Sky. To the moon. Luna learned to keep me between herself and Molly and walked behind me most of the time. If she was in Molly’s path, she learned to duck away at the last moment to avoid a bruising collision. Molly doesn’t always know when to put on the brakes.

We walked everyday. Sometimes we went skiing. We did keep her as busy as possible but there were some days when I had to get some work done and she would get bored and continuously bring me a ball or something else for a game. Overall she was a good dog and brought lots of joy into our life.

In case you’ve forgotten, here is what Molly looked like a year ago.

Molly is faster than Sky now

Dog with dignity

We skied with Marcy and Guthrie

That’s how my lip gets stuck

Merry Christmas from the three dog pack.

More of that dignity thing

Happy New Year from the Good Dog Gang

December Days

It’s hard to believe that December and 2017 are nearly over. I’ve spent lots of time outside in the cold weather and powder snow with dogs. Here are some images that don’t feature dogs.

Goat Peak

Lookout Mountain

Morning alpenglow

Sunrise

Valley Goods at TwispWorks

Bald Eagle

Red-tailed Hawk

Common Redpoll

Remains

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument

The last big highlight of our Arizona road trip was Casa Grande. This imposing structure was first seen by a white man in 1694. A community of ancient Sonoran Desert people had lived and farmed the region up until about 1450 and then abandoned the place for unknown reasons. They developed an extensive network of canals to water their crops including corn, beans, squash, tobacco and cotton among others. They were also skilled pottery artists. One enormous pot that was recovered from the ruins intact was more than two feet in diameter and it is on display in the visitor center. Sadly there is no written language and no record of why they left.

The roof over the big building was constructed in 1932 in order to prevent further decay of the ruins. Some restoration attempts were made however little has changed since the 1940’s.

Cotton is farmed all over Arizona

Ocotillo

A replica of an old pot.

Pigeons live in the ruins

An attempt at resotration

These short walls are the remains of smaller buildings, probably homes.

The area around the ruins are closed to the public. Remains of other structures are buried and preserved in the sand. No digging is permitted.

Chiricahua National Monument

The Chiricahua National Monument is one of those place I have been hoping to visit for some time now. And now that I’ve been there, I really want to return. During our road trip through Arizona this month, it had the best birding and by far, the best rocks. Walking on the trails through Echo Canyon I could imagine footsteps of long dead natives and Europeans alike. It is a great place to get lost.