Oh yeah, I still think those little ground squirrels are just the cutest.
Tag Archives: camping
The girls and I got away for four nights last weekend to a favorite camping spot in the Okanogan Highlands. The weather continues to be cold for this time of year. One morning, there was thick frost on everything and one evening, in addition to rain, there was a good hail storm. Never a dull moment. We kept warm in the camper and kept moving outside. With the chilly weather, few people were camping so we mostly had the place to ourselves. That was nice.
Even Luna enjoyed the time away from home. She’s always been a good traveler and is eager to explore new places. She had a real spring in her step. Sky was excited to be camped next to a lake and I was excited to get in my boat and to see all the birds. We could see and hear the loons from our campsite. It was wonderful.
Sky and I got away for three days last week. The weather continues to be fairly cool, well cold, most days. The dog water froze outside each night and I was grateful for a working heater in the camper. We walked and walked and walked and saw a fair number of deer. There was one otter that entertained me for an afternoon. We also saw a skunk on one of our rambles in the hills. Luckily, I saw it before it saw us! I identified 64 bird species and am sure I missed some whose songs I didn’t recognize. We had a fine campsite overlooking a small lake with a variety of waterfowl and one lone swan. There were numerous buttercups in bloom and one Astragulus and some tiny lomatiums. The snow had just finished melting and while we were there, we had one impressive snow squall that left the hills white til the sun came out again. Mountain Bluebirds were everywhere! Red-winged Blackbirds, American Robins and Canada Geese woke us each morning with their songs and calls.
Here is my bird list for the three days:
Canada Goose
Tundra Swan
Wood Duck
American Wigeon
Mallard
Green-winged Teal
Ring-necked Duck
Greater Scaup
Bufflehead
Barrow’s Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
California Quail
Ruffed Grouse
Dusky Grouse
Pied-billed Grebe
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
Virginia Rail
American Coot
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Great Horned Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Red-naped Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Say’s Phoebe
Black-billed Magpie
American Crow
Common Raven
Black-capped Chickadee
Mountain Chickadee
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Pygmy Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Bewick’s Wren
American Dipper
European Starling
Western Bluebird
Mountain Bluebird
American Robin
House Finch
Cassin’s Finch
Pine Siskin
Chipping Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-crowned Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Spotted Towhee
Western Meadowlark
Red-winged Blackbird
Brewer’s Blackbird
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Our second site had the best sunrises and sunsets. That incredible October light. All these images were made from our lovely lakeside campsite. My girls look good in the evening light.
The girls and I set out on a road trip the end of last month. It was supposed to be nearly three weeks long but instead it was five nights. Luna has an inflamed achilles tendon and is unable to walk much at all so we mainly stayed near our campsite or went for drives. She was ok with that and Sky was happy since we camped next to two different lakes and we got to visit some friends too. I was the unhappy one. I need to be able to get out and move. I tried leaving Luna in the camper but then she barked. She really, really wanted to go and explore but it was impossible. Ken was working from home the next week so we returned to the Methow (not a bad place to be) so Sky and I could go hiking.
We did stay in two new (to us) campgrounds and that was fun. The autumn light was marvelous! Wonderful sunsets and sunrises and one rainy afternoon. One campground is definitely a place to return to. The other one is surrounded by the effects of the summer’s wildfires. I should be used to burned trees by now, right? Here are a few images from the first campground.
My Everyday Photos 