Going out for a drive usually means spotting someone or something from the bush or the air.
Last week we went on two long drives and were treated to wildlife during both.
The first one gave us this fine fellow.
He (or she) has an ear tag on the left. I'm not sure why. Mike suggested it was a problem bear. Whatever the reason for the tag, this black bear was minding its own business on a lovely June morning along the David Thompson Highway near the Banff Park border.
On Saturday we checked out the south end of the county. This glorious great gray owl was sitting on a fence post when we went by. We backed up for a photo, but it wasn't having any of it and took off. This was the best I could do.
Later on along a back road we saw this woodchuck enjoying a moment of not chucking wood.
I am so grateful to live in an area where I can see these creatures, and grateful that they've let me photograph them.
12 comments:
Fantastic photos. And that's a wonderful thing to be grateful for. It's why I love going back to my hometown whenever I can - it's so untouched by "progress".
Thank you so much, Laurita.
I love the untouched places, but they are getting harder to find.
Great shots, cousin! I am hoping to get out and visit some wilderness.... soon.
In the meantime, I'm grateful for you posting these pictures.
Wow, bears. Glad you have them near enough to see sometimes, but not too close for comfort.
Thanks, and you're welcome, Cousin.
Messymimi, we occasionally get them in town. I'd much rather go to them.
I have often seen bears in that location and like you say minding his own business.
I read somewhere twenty years ago that there was nowhere in the US southeast more than half a mile in a straight line from a paved road. Don't remember where they got this statistic but it horrified me, the child of gravel roads.
I'm glad I don't have to watch out for bears.
Mary Anne in Kentucky
WOW!
Great bear photo. How lucky you are to see so much wildlife up close.
We actually had a bear roaming around Provincetown recently... first time as it had to swim over to the Cape. Made the local papers it was such an unexpected visit. Normally the bears we get are large hairy bearded gay men. (Seriously, they call them selves Bears and all arrive for Bear Week in July and are a very fun crowd. No fangs or claws!)
Thanks for sharing the photos!
Red, it's a popular spot for them.
Mary Anne, that's too much pavement for my tastes.
Crabby, thanks. Interesting about the bear. And as for the Bears, I think they sound perfectly cuddly.
I too, am glad that we have an abundance of wildlife close at hand. It is getting a bit harder to find in the city, the deer that were a 5 minute drive away are now about a 30 minute drive out - that is how much the city has grown and displaced them. Great shots of all, even if the owl didn't want to stick around ;)
I'm grateful that you share them. Such wonderful photos, Leah. You're very lucky to have such encounters.
Reb, you still have the bunnies. I shudder to think how much the city has expanded.
Thanks.
Hilary, thanks. I hope I never take seeing wildlife for granted.
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