So there I was. . . The Tale of the B's [new pics page 3]

nice shot of the elk, SG. They are eating machines. It's hard to believe that grass turns into something so HUGE

Wily your bears remind me of the many we see quite frequently when not seeing the mountain lions. Last encounter with a bear she huffed to let me know I was too close while her two cubs ran up a tree. I backed away. The cubs being very curious little creatures spent more time watching me than hiding. They knew mom would take care of them.

Another time two cubs climbed all over a cement mixer, peering inside and then jumping off, only to climb back up again.

A neighbor got her broom and smacked one cub on the butt who was caught between the slats of her deck railing. The cub did it again. lol

A mountain lion and her yearling climbed on a ponderosa pine limb and playfully jumped up and down on it.

These sightings were during the day but best time to see them is dawn or dusk.

Thanx for the pix Wily and SG.

I read that the reason they tell you NOT to climb a tree if you see a bear is that the cubs could be up there and then you're done for... Mom chases them up a tree when their safety is in question. Makes more sense to me now...
I have NEVER SEEN a mountain lion but I know they are around (tracks in snow) but that is all... seeing a mom and yearling would be an amazing site. You are lucky!

Wily Fox aka Angela wrote:

Rockdoc Franz wrote: Psst... Angie, bear with me (pun intended), that is not a Ponderosa pine but a Douglas fur.

HA! I have NOT learned all the conifers and get them confused for some reason (my inability to learn most likely!). I heard about a new phone ap that would be perfect for someone like me

http://leafsnap.com/

thanks!

Here's a couple of helpful hints:

1) Firs are Friendly...when you grab a branch near where it's attached to another branch in your hand and run your hand down it (in the direction the needles are growing), it doesn't prick you like other pines...it is kind of soft.
2) Spruces have shorter needles than Ponderosa Pine's do. They also smell differently (I like the smell, but some don't).
3) Lodgepole Pines (the kind at higher elevation and the ones that are mostly decimated in places like Summit County and Grand County)...their trunks are straight and tall.

Hope these hints help! Amazing story about the bears...wildlife in its natural habitat is so fun.

thank you! I love the spruces, too! We have 'em all. We cut down about 200-300 lodge polls last fall... they had turned the back hillside into a doghaired mess. No disease, just getting ready for the eventual arrival of the bugs... the healthier the tree, the better their chance

We have, well had, this huge stump that was at the bottom of our driveway. It was so big, it was "artisitic", so I left it there. I assume ants must be living in there as the bears went excavating




Last night, it was so hot, I cooked salmon on the back deck grill. It was about 8 or so, right at dusk and I see mom and her cubs coming up the drive, most likely smelling the salmon.



I took one picture quickly through the front door (sorry for poor image, it was almost dark and shot through the screen). I then walked out onto front porch and calmly said "mom (she was behind them about 30 feet), you better get your kids outta here"

Well, those cubs took off like firecrackers were lit under them. One climbed about 20 feet up a huge conifer and the other ran to the base after it. Mom, just turned and started heading back up into the forest (we have 11 eleven acres next to us that are undeveloped and nice and remote to houses/humans).



it was getting pretty dark. Mom is the first big black blob and the cubs are the two small black blobs behind her.

lol How cute! They were coming for dinner! They smelled the invite!

On a more serious note, glad they left. Better that they not get too used to humans and end up dead.

Thank you for the pics.

I don't like that mom is so casual about bringing the cubs around houses. At least they are fearful of humans and we intend to keep them that way

I learned in 6th grade. Spruce needles are square and fir needles are flat. Does that sound correct?