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Author Archives: Teri J Pieper

Seen While Birding

We went on an outing to see if we could find some wintering birds the other day. They are few and far between here at home except at the feeders. Imagine our surprise when we found four bighorn sheep right alongside the road. There was a ram, two ewes and a youngster. At first we thought they had pawed into the snow to find food but as we watched, we realized that they were licking dirt. I wonder if it’s a natural salt lick or if it has some other sort of mineral they need? Regardless, they were intent on what they were doing and did not leave as we watched and photographed. At one point, the big ram moved away from his dirt hole and the youngster started in on it. Shortly, the male came along and butted the little one on the butt, telling them to get out of his hole.

Another Doggie Dash

Methow Trails hosted another Doggie Dash at their new headquarters in Winthrop on Saturday. It was a fabulous, fun event with lots of participants and many spectators. The Doggie Dash is part costume contest and part race. It’s pretty clear that some folks are there for the costumes and others for the race. Volunteers are a big part of the Doggie Dash, helping setup, take registrations, judge, emcee, photograph and clean up when it’s all over.

The event started with warm up laps and then a costume parade before the racing got underway. There were two kids’ heats with the top two in each heat going to the final. Then there were six adult heats with the winner of each heat going to the final. After both finals, there was the all important costume judging. It’s pretty clear that my favorite dog costume did not win. Oh well, there were so many choices. So many people vying for the coveted golden poodle award!

In the races, watch for the German short-haired pointers. The huskies didn’t have a chance against those strong, athletic dogs. And I think this is the first time I’ve seen a woman win the race. In fact, all three top finishers were women!

Dark-eyed Juncos

Who doesn’t love a junco?

And oh, by the way, it looks like WordPress has made some unneeded changes. I swear. This is the second day in a row I’ve had to deal with apps that take something perfectly functional and make it much more difficult than it needs to be. Shopify is the other one that’s gone down a dark alley.

Another Feeder Bird

This Sharp-shinned Hawk visited the feeders in a snow storm earlier this week. It has been coming around for a while. All the little birds scatter when the hawk arrives.

A Feeder Bird

There have been a couple interesting birds at the feeders recently. This American Kestrel did not stick around very long but he sure did give me some good looks! His feathers are very puffed up due to the cold. Normally, he would have a tubular shaped body.