December 10, 2024

Ridgway & River

Today Joann was shopping with her sister; so I escaped to Ridgway first.  It had snowed yesterday and the mountains were still shrouded in clouds.  By the time I got there they were mostly gone.  It was still a winter wonderland.  I saw a few deer.  My tracks on the Escarpment trail were the first today.  However, I did meet another woman with two labs as I was sitting on a bench on the cliff edge.  She was a Christian too and we both acknowledged that God is good and His creative wonders never cease.

After I got home I decided to go down to the river and tramp around some more.  It was a cold day - only 20F at Ridgway and upper twenties by the river.  I was warm all day and didn't notice it except on my face.  There weren't many bird shot opportunities.  The pond is mostly froze over.  The few ducks there were enjoying the water and fussing with each other as they couldn't spread out.  There were a few geese too.  There are still a couple buffleheads there - an unusual treat for around here.  All in all about five miles tramping today and God's gorgeous creation. Canon SX70

 December 3, 2024

EWR

Today Ryan and I went birding to EWR.  It was kind of a bust.  Not much for birds at all.  It was a nice warm day though and it was good to get together with him.  Nikon P950

 December 2, 2024

Transfer Walk

Today I was itching to hike a bit.  I went up Transfer, hoping to go to my usual hiking spot, but the road was very muddy.  So, I knew I'd be hiking in the mud.  I turned around and came back down the road and hiked lower.  Squatters all over the place up there.  It's getting out of hand.  The BLM needs to stop this nonsense.  They've ridden 4 wheelers all over the place off trails and roads.  It's disgusting to me - like a BLM RV park. Found a cool old can - I'm assuming it was an old tobacco tin.  I left it for someone else to see.  It was sunny and mid 40's - a very nice day.  I'm tired of editing photos, so only shot in Jpegs today.   Canon SX70

 November 30, 2024

Crawford

The ladies went to a craft thing in Delta and Landon and I went to Crawford to see if any buck were still rutting. They weren’t but we did see a few anyway. We saw lots of turkeys. We named this buck the tank due to obvious reasons.  OMD EM1 III. 

Shot on Nikon P950

 November 29, 2024

Gunnison

We hadn’t been to Gunnison for a bit due to the ridge delays. Now it’s only short delays on one bridge. It was nippy up there, only being in the single digits. It was the most snow in Gunnison I’ve seen in years. We drive on up toward Pitkin. We saw elk and some deer. The highlight was a Pygmy Owl or Saw-whet Owl (not sure which) on a fence post right by the road. It was very relaxed for us. All in all a great day. OMD EM1 III and Panasonic G9

 November 22,2024

Ridgway & Bostwick

We had hopes of seeing some bucks in the rut. We went up over Log Hill first. I think this is the first time ever that I’ve gone over Log Hill and not seen a single deer. We went all around Ridgway…nothing. So, we came home and went for a walk. We decided to go up on Bostwick later and finally found lots of deer. There were only a few bucks but they were rutty. None of them were very big bucks. Big ones are few and far between these days in western Colorado. They get killed before they have a chance to grow up. Anyway it was a beautiful warm day….mid 50’s. OMD EM1 III

 November 21, 2024

Miramonte

I went fishing today with Rex to Miramonte.  We left at 5:15...nope, no fish is worth that.  It was cold at first but warmed rapidly after the sun rose.  There was ice on the lake in spots.  We caught our limit and put quite a few back.  I hooked a lot more, but couldn't get them in.  They were all nice fish.  Rex caught the biggest one - a brown.  All the rainbows were in the pound/pound and a half range.  We saw a few elk on the way in near the lake.  One cow crashed as she tried to jump the fence.  She was fine after shaking off the dust.  It was a good day!  

 November 20, 2024

River Walk

Joann's sister came up to do some shopping, so I escaped to the river.  It was a bit chilly but not bad.  I saw a couple waterfowl visitors that are not frequent...a snow goose and several buffleheads.  There haven't been any cedar waxwings yet...not cold enough up north.  Nikon P950

Killdeer

Bufflehead

Ring Neck Ducks

Snow goose and coot

 November 19, 2024

Rim Road

It snowed a skiff last night, but the mountains got hit pretty hard.  I waited until things dried out a bit and then went up on the north end of the Rim Road and did a 3.5 mile hiking loop.  No people or critters - yay!  Another big game season starts tomorrow, so the area will be thick with hunters again for several days.  It was a good day outdoors!  Panasonic G9

 November 18, 2024

Vernal Utah

We took a few days and headed over to Vernal for the weekend.  It was great to see old friends and visit the church we attended while there.  The deer are making a comeback on Diamond Mtn which we were glad to see.  But, it was hunting season, so I'm sure we only saw a few compared to what is really there.  We also went down to the Ouray refuge and didn't see much.  They must have rid the place of the porcupines as we didn't see any.  Usually there are many.  We did see a bald eagle.  We then wrapped around through the reservation back to Vernal.  We saw a few wild horses and some antelope.  All in all it was a good trip.  I love the slower pace of Vernal!  OMD EM1 III

The eagle left his lunch when he flew.  Hours later when we came back by, it was gone.