Hike in the hills

[Rod]

Sometimes, I just gotta get away from the farm for awhile. This afternoon was perfect, sun was shining, temp was about 5F, and the wind finally quit blowing for once. I had to get out....

I headed up a coulee, and ran across tracks of a coyote and a fox.



North Dakota glacier, a frozen spring on the sidehill.




I'll post some more pics in the next post...


Rod

[isaac]

Brilliant

[Rod]

Coming around the corner of a hill, I found out the fox tracks were fresh---Monsieur Renard headed over the hill, without giving me a chance to get his photo. The mule deer on the same sidehill, though, were more accomodating.



I made a fire using my burning glass, melted some snow, and made my meal. Meat on a stick and hot chocolate brewing, what more could you ask for?



After I ate, I left the bone and some fat for M. Renard or the coyote, whichever got there first. As I headed back, I ran into Renard again (bet he'll get the bone), I whistled and he stopped for a monent, but again he was too fast for the camera. I climbed up the hill a ways, and checked out a petrified log, although it was in pieces, it must have been a good 25 feet long. On down the coulee, I kicked out a jackrabbit, my rifle was loaded, but with a full stomach, I let him go---jackrabbit tastes like sagebrush, and is tougher than whang leather, anyway. As I got down into the creek bottom, I spotted one of a pair of bald eagles that have been hanging around the farm all winter. The jackrabbit better watch out, or he'll be feeding the eagles. I also spotted a buffalo bone eroding out of a cutbank, I'll have to keep an eye on that, maybe the skull is in there somewhere.

All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better afternoon---a nice walk, a good meal, plenty of wildlife to see.







Rod

[Leifer]

Makes me jealous! I need to get my capote made!

Leifer

[marvin]

The good life

[Duane]

Rod, why do you refer to the rabbit as M.Renard..d

[Rod]

It was the fox---renard is the French word for fox. This one was pretty good sized, a nice orange-red with a grey tail and white tip. He had circled around behind me, maybe attracted by the smell of me cooking.

Thanks for the comments---I used to get out like that much more often in the winter, but now days, with a wife and 4 kids, and aging parents, it seems like my time is always spoken for. That made the day all the more special for me---my version of therapy, I guess, and something I should try to do more often.

I also got to try out my camera---I picked up an inexpensive Polaroid digital, it's no larger than a deck of cards and weighs about the same. I never seem to take a camera with me, because they'd always seemed to be bulky and in the way, but wished I had. This one I could tuck inside my coat and never know it was there. It lacks some on the long distance shots (I tried getting up-close pics of the deer, but they were too blurry), but it's good for close up and mid-range stuff. I was having fun playing around with it, as you can tell.

Rod

[Jon]

Looks like you had a great time Rod. Thanks for the pics also. I learn a lot from everyone's pictures.