Lions, Tigers, and Bears

WARNING:  This post contains graphic images.  Not suitable for Bambi lovers.  On Tuesday, I went to stretch my legs at the track.  The track is on the campus of Lassen Community College (LCC).  While I walked, I was surprised to see two deer grazing on the soccer field.  I shouldn't have been surprised—there are deer everywhere—but I realized that I had never seen them on the well-watered field before.  On Wednesday, I returned for my track laps and noticed just one deer (above).  Well, I encountered the body of the deer; the spirit of the deer had (hopefully) reached deer heaven.  On Thursday, I returned for my daily track laps (have I mentioned that I am a creature of habit?) and found the gate locked and signed (below).

Because the track was closed, I went out to the Bizz for an hour.  After about half a mile, I encountered a steaming pile of bear poop, which caused me to start thinking:  If you are a reader of Jack London (or H.H. Monroe/Saki), you know to be afraid of wolves.  But should we be afraid of lions and bears?  I'll grant that petite females don't want to see a lion on the track at dusk, but can closing the gates save us?  Instead of walking on the track, I went to the Bizz and walked in the woods (below).  Was that a safer choice?  I guess I feel as though wild animals are everywhere and that, if they want to eat us, . . . Oh, My!  On the other hand, as VSO pointed out, the closure was probably dictated by a lawyer for the LCC's insurer.

View from the Office

I'm working in Utah again this fall.  During the past week, I went to tour a couple of sites on the north end of the La Sal Mountains.  That whole area, from Moab to Grand Junction to Durango, has become horribly crowded.  The highways and campgrounds are twice as busy as they were even just two years ago.  On the other hand, it is hard to blame the poor SOBs:  These views into Bull Canyon (above) and Fisher Creek (below) explain some of the attraction.

Run Ride

This time the plan was for EDO to run while I rode the bike.  It is the only way we can travel at the same speed.  It is difficult to believe, but we left the house in the first snowstorm of 2020.  By the time we got to the Gap it was dry again, though, which was just as well.  We intended to circumnavigate the entire Gap on a series of two tracks, but got detoured by a flock of sheep (well guarded by three Great Pyrenees).  In the event, we were out for about an hour, and covered probably four or five miles.

ACT to IGT

This morning, EDO took the American College Testing (ACT) college admissions test.  When she was finished, she sent me a text and I met her at the local mountain biking trailhead.  We rode together up Liken-it, and then down the Iron Giant Trail (IGT).  I was finished at that point, but EDO wanted one more lap, so she spent another 45 minutes on the bike while I went to Home Depot.

Against Burrowing

420 Grand had been semi-abandoned before I moved in.  As a result, it had become a haven for wildlife—skunks and racoons—as well as feral cats.  Little by little I have reclaimed my one tenth acre from small animals.  It's not that I dislike them in theory, but in practice I don't prefer skunks under the house and racoons under the wood shed.  The latest effort has closed the space under the wood shed.  Putting up boards is one thing, but many of my friends are good diggers, so there needs to be a tunnel-proof border to discourage burrowing.