Song - Animal Crackers in My Soup by Shirley Temple
The critters were abundant in Lake Tahoe over the last two weeks.
There was a Ladybug hatch one day at the beach. They would float in on the water, land in the sand, dry off and fly away. It was hard to cool off in the water with out stepping on them as they blanketed the shoreline.
The Canadian Geese and Sea Gulls were out in record numbers as well. They could hear you opening your lunch from across the lake!
The Merganser's and ducks would float in and out.
Every morning several Tiger Swallowtails would great me "good morning"! It was lovely to watch them float through the forest weaving in and out of the trees.
I saw squirrels, chipmunks, huge Carpenter Ants, deer and this little fellow came to visit Mr. B and me when we returned to the cabin from the beach.....
I named him "Bobby Bear".
Doesn't that just fit this big guy (who was about the size of a VW bug!)?
I think he needs a pedicure........
Cute, fuzzy-wuzzy guy who was focused on getting to the creek behind me.
There were lot's of Robins, Stellar Jays and songbirds. I even saw a Bald Eagle but wasn't quick enough with my camera.
Can you see the White-Headed Woodpecker? I had never seen one of them before. It was just after a thunder shower.
The Forest Rangers had a "bird show" going on near Camp Richardson, just down the street from our cabin. There was a Kestrel which was found in someone's swimming pool.
A Red Tailed Hawk.........
And a Gyrfalcon or "white falcon" who had to wear a blinder the entire time because he was raised by one man and never saw any other people. When the man died, he would become traumatized if he saw other people.
This is the woman who is now raising him. She is a Master Falconer and the young woman several photo's above is her apprentice. Falcons were used for hunting before guns were invented. It's how they got food on the table for the family!
But one of my favorite critters was a litter of Coyote pups who were having a great time playing with each other on this log. We saw them on our way home from Yemmonaide Lake (Angora Lake).
And now to show you the fiercest animal of the forest.......
She was on-guard all day long and in the afternoons she was plain tuckered out! Probably dreaming about chasing squirrels......
"The quality of life is in proportion, always, to the capacity for delight. The capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention."
- May Sarton
