Boolie

A Lovely Pair

This pair of mountain goats reminds me of a pair of Kiwis (or were they Aussies?) that I met at the lookout on the top of Mount Washburn. They were young and touring a bunch of national parks in my homeland and asked my opinions on my favorite parks. They were lovely folks and although I headed back down the trail before them, they later came running past, saying the ranger had told them there were mountain goats near the trail. I kept my walking pace and arrived a short time after them, but the goats were already all the way down the hill and moving off. I got a quick picture but a better memory, meeting nice people on the trails is one of the joys of our national parks.

The goats aren’t native to Yellowstone but they were perfectly adapted to this part of the park, I was astounded at how quickly and easily they covered the steep slopes below the trail. I was even more impressed by the time I arrived back at the car, huffing and puffing, and unconvincingly consoled myself that they’d probably be equally slow and tired if they were carrying a heavy camera and lens.

On Bended Knee

This bighorn sheep calf was getting rather large to still be nursing so it had to get down on its knees to be able to drink its mother’s milk. The mother only let it nurse for a short time before moving on.

Balancing Act

A peregrine falcon throws up its wings to maintain its balance atop a dead tree as the wind blows across Canvasback Lake.

Rolling Hills

This little section of Mammoth Hot Springs is one of my favorite parts of Yellowstone.

Red is the Tastiest Color

An elk cow reaches for red leaves on a fall evening in Yellowstone National Park.

Wet From Above, Wet From Below

A male northern pintail swims across Rest Lake on a rainy winter afternoon, his back covered in tiny water droplets from the gentle rain.

Boo Skies

The blue skies behind Boo are the sky blue walls of my office. When we bought the house years ago, to go along with the brown hardwood floors and area rug, I had the walls painted sky blue with a white ceiling, so I could have my earth and sky even while sitting indoors. My mini-earth is full of beautiful creatures too, but mine are more snuggly.

No Pikas

I was thinking of pikas when taking these pictures, relying on snow to insulate their talus field homes to survive the brutal winter, but I wasn’t expecting to see any. These rocks are part of the multi-tiered rock wall that we had installed this fall as part of a landscaping project. I’ll have more to say later but we absolutely love the work that Mandi and her team at Habitat Gardens did, the rain gardens have almost completely eliminated water from the basement and the new landscaping out front, replacing a wall of junipers on our front slope, makes me happy every time I walk past.

I must admit I’m tempted to try to find a little stone pika that I can hide in one of the crevices.

Pine Dine

A black bear eats seeds from a pine cone high atop a pine tree on the Mount Washburn Trail in Yellowstone National Park.

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