Al Larson Photography

We live in a world with creatures all around us. We are accustomed to seeing deer, elk, coyotes, bear, squirrels etc. that roam around during the day. We also have a miriad of other critters that prefer darkness. Rats, skunks, racoons, possums, bats, flying squirrels and mice are a few of the nocturnal animals that are often present but seldom seen.

In this photo is a mouse (house mouse?) that gnawed its way through the plastic cover of a birdseed barrel. It entered the barrel and dropped down to the birdseed. When I removed the cover in the morning I discovered a startled mouse frantically leaping up the slick sides of the barrel. Trapped, it had no alternative but to pose for this picture.

It is interesting to go outside after a slight snowfall and check the stories written in the snow. It’s best when the snow falls on bare ground and the tracks are highlighted by the dark ground below. Here we have a set of squirrel imprints as it leaped across the snow. Also an Oregon Junco passed along this route then doubled back a few hops and took to the air. The Junco footprints ended. Then we see the marks left in the snow by the bird’s primaries as it left the ground.

Here we have a very protective adult Great Horned Owl in its nest with a couple downy nestlings. When the first of March comes around we begin to notice nesting activity among the raptors. It is not unusual to find an adult Great Horned Owl huddled down in its nest with snow on its back. Owls typically do not build their own nest but use abandoned nests of other large species (crows, ravens and hawks). On occasion they may appropriate a nest being used by another species. They may use the same nest for several years.

In the first place who would want this many birds in a cage? Think of all the soiled paper one would have to remove and other maintainance. With a window feeder one can enjoy the birds close at hand just as well. All one needs to do is keep a supply of food available. In this photo I have a multitude of Pine Siskins voratiously consuming rather expensive sunflower chips. By supplying sunflower chips I avoid the seed hulls that would otherwise accumulate beneath the feeder. The piece of wire fencing you see in the background keeps the wild turkeys off of the feeder. I refuse to supply sunflower chips to fill a turkey’s crop!

I looked out of the window this morning and was greeted by a view of fresh snow. This is the 15th of February and I was wishing that Spring would be peeking around the corner. Seven Pine Siskins have recently arrived and seem to be taking the weather in stride. The coat hangers in the photo tend to deter jays so that smaller birds can feed peacefully. The hangers also make handy perches for the smaller birds

This little guy makes regular trips across the yard and up the hill to find pine cones. Sometimes it scampers back across the lawn, along the top of the board fence to its cache or fovorite dining place. This time it paused on a mound of snow by the woodshed to bite loose a couple of bracts from the pine cone searching for the hidden seeds within. This fellow is usually referred to as a “pine squirrel” or “chickory.” Like squirrels elsewhere they can be tamed by the lure of food to feed from your hand. However I have not practiced this for a long time.

After a light snowfall yesterday I ventured outside with the camera. One never knows what may get in front of the lens. We have five wild turkey toms that visit us nearly every day. They have found where I scatter seeds for the smaller birds. On this day just enough snow had fallen on the wet frozen ground to record the passing of various wildlife. The soft white snow gave way to the dark ground below giving contrast to the tracks of our passing toms.

Hilda does such a wonderful job as an artist. Here she used a slab of petrified bog as a canvas. This scene shows a mournful Black Bear cub looking longingly at its mother. The cub is about to strike out on its own after being weaned and abandoned by its mother. A weasel (ermine) in winter coat looks on.

I thought it was time to once again show some of Hilda’s artwork.  Here she put oils on a cross-cut blade. The elk and eagle seem right at home here by the lake, as do the fishermen and their camp. Notice how the crowns of the trees blend into the teeth. I think that this could grace almost any outdoor person’s mantel.

I returned to the beaver pond below the house on Daggett Creek today in hopes of seeing the beaver(s). Some fall colors still linger on the trees, bushes and shrubs. There was not a ripple in the water. I noticed the long ice crystals floating on the surface. I did not observe a pathway through the crystals so I presume the beaver must come out of its hut in the evenings or during the night. There seems to be fresh evidence of recent activity, fallen stems of willow.