Blodgett Peak Open Space Part II

He took my Breath Away

I was walking my dog through the neighborhood. We came around a corner and were walking down the sidewalk. Something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head to see what it was. Three feet from me was a ten point buck that must have weighed just under 800 lbs. He was absolutely huge and very majestic looking. It took my breath away and my heart nearly stopped beating. He was standing so still that he looked like a statue. I knew he wasn't a statue, because I could see plenty of drool coming out of his mouth and dripping on the ground. After my heart started beating normally again and I started breathing, I quickly and very quietly took the dog and stepped off the sidewalk and crossed the street. My dog never even noticed him because he was standing so very still and not moving even a muscle. After I was a safe distance away, I stopping and took in his beauty. I have never in my life been so close to something so big and majestic. I could have almost reached out and touched him. I was so glad that the dog didn't notice him and bark. I would hate to think of what might have happend if the dog would have spooked him. After we got far enough away, he started eating again. I said to myself that we sure should have had our camera with us today. Since I'm originally from Utah, we would call it a 10 point buck. Here in Colorado Springs they would call it a five point buck meaning 5 points on each side.

A Walk in a Park

Hiking with my son at Green Mountain Falls

Now I've Seen it All

You will never guess who came to my house to visit. It was on Sunday morning. I was in my night gown and bath robe. Low and behold the special visitor was in my living room right next to the television. As I went to open the entertainment center there he was. Yes, a live rattle snake right there on my living room floor. You can imagine my surprise. I didn’t care if my neighbor was out of bed or not. I ran to his house in my night gown and bath robe. He was kind enough to remove it from my house. His wife came with him just to make sure that he didn’t get bitten. It was small, but if you know anything about rattle snakes then you know that the smaller ones are much more poisonous then the big ones. My question that hasn’t yet been answered is where is its mother, brothers, and sisters. They must be in a nest very close by. I asked the wildlife removal company how a snake would get into my house. They said that it would come through a closed sliding glass door just as easily as I would come through an open sliding glass door. Those type of doors are built in such a way that snakes can slither underneath them. I have recently purchased snake repellent that will be going all the way around my house tonight. I didn’t know that they made such a repellent but they do.

Okay, so the bobcat that was five feet away from my dog and looking at eating him for breakfast was somewhat unnerving. The bear that was ten feet away from us and thoroughly enjoying my neighbor’s garbage was kind of interesting to watch. The pack of wild coyotes that howl outside my patio make it a bit frightening to take the dog potty after dark. The red fox that we see in the park is really quite beautiful. The mad deer that tried to trample the dog and I was actually pretty scary. However, a rattle snake in my living room is just downright unacceptable.

I was glad that the dog didn't find the snake. If it would have bitten the dog, he probably would have died. It was very close to where he likes to sleep at night. He doesn't even know the difference. He is lucky that he doesn't have to be scared when he goes to bed at night. I told the V.P. of Human Resources at our corporate office that if I wake up in the morning, get out of bed, step on a rattle snake, it bites me, and I die that it is all his fault. He was the one that asked me to move over here. He called me up and told me that I had a very nice neighbor because he certainly would not have come over and taken a rattle snake out of my house no matter how many brownies I baked for him. The General Manager and Operations Manager where I work said that I could be absolutely positive that they definately would not have come over and taken a rattle snake out of my house and that I did indeed have a very nice neighbor to do that for me. So much for those people at work, I'm glad that they are not my neighbors. I need brave neighbors that can dispose of dead rabbits and live rattle snakes.

Hiking at Fox Run

No bears, foxes, coyotes, dead squirrels, mad deer, or bobcats. Just a whole lot of peace and quiet, a few dogs, and a horse. A very nice place. An easy hike about 4 miles. An easy to follow trail with lots of Forest.

The Bears are Back

Today is when we found the squirrel's tail. The dog refused to go potty out there. I finally took him for a walk around a park. We were coming back when something caught my eye. It was a light brown bear. We decided to walk the other way and told the neighbors. Everyone came out to watch it from a distance. It was having a good old time in the neighbor's garbage can. The neighbor girl said that it looked like a Cinnamon bear. A nice young man said it looked like a Teddy Graham. I thought it looked like a great big ole teddy bear. It ended up going into the neighbors back yard that is just down from my back yard. Fortunately, the nice young man walked me and the dog to our front door. I was just glad that the dog had been potty for the night. Sure enough, the neighbor man told me to watch out for rattle snakes. I told him that we did not want to encounter them. He reassured me that we definitely did not want to encounter them but they are out there. My neighbor is going to e-mail me a picture. I will post it when I get it.

All that is left of the squirrel is his tail.

Today, I came home for lunch to let the dog out. He wasn't interested in going potty and wouldn't leave the patio. I walked out with him and discovered that all that was left of the squirrel he had been arguing with was part of his tail. It was coming up from under the grass. As I was driving back to work, I did feel some remorse for that poor squirrel. It was a feisty little feller. I'm sure that the culprits were the two gray coyotes with white on them. I saw them in the bushes on the bluff three days ago. They were searching for some rabbit for dinner. The rabbits had scampered away, but the squirrel wasn't so lucky. Fortunately, on the day I saw the coyotes the dog had just come back in from going potty and was safe and sound. My sister said that I was the one that should have felt lucky that I was safe and sound.

The Foxes and Squirrels are back

Last year I didn't see any squirrels nor did I see any foxes. I thought this a bit unusual. I was walking my dog the other day. We came upon the park and from a distance saw what looked like another dog. I wondered where the dogs owner was. As we got closer, we could see that it was a fox and not a dog. It really didn't want to be seen by us so it went along its way and took refuge in a yard close by.

I heard a ruckus outside my window the other day. I looked out and saw a squirrel and a magpie arguing with each other. I thought to myself what an ornery ole squirrel that was. Magpies actually eat squirrels. The magpie was pecking and flapping it's wings at the squirrel. The squirrel was hitting the magpie in its face with it's tail. The magpie was squawking and the squirrel was squealing. The squirrel would walk a few feet with the magpie pushing it along. Pretty soon they were out of sight but I could still hear them arguing.

I put my dog out on his chain in the back yard. Our patio is fenced in but our yard is not. I left the patio gate open so that I could keep my eye on the dog. I have to make sure that no wild life gets him. He was sunbathing and enjoying the beautiful spring weather. All of a sudden that dog just went nuts. I walked out to see what in the world he was barking at. He had chased that same ole ornery squirrel up the side of the neighbors house. The squirrel was just squealing and squealing at the dog. The dog was barking and barking at that squirrel. I finally had to take the dog in the house to get him to stop barking. The squirrel just stayed on the side of the house squealing and would not leave nor stop squealing until that dog was gone. It must have some babies close by.

A couple of days later, the dog and I went out the front door to go for a walk. Low and behold, there was that same squirrel sitting right next to a rabbit. The dog could care less about the rabbit but took off on a dead run after that squirrel and chased it right up a tree. The squirrel was squealing and the dog was barking. When we got back from our walk that squirrel and another squirrel were running around in a different tree. The dog gave them his two cents worth, and we went in the house.

All I can say is that squirrel better watch out. My neighbor has an all black cat that is quite a little hunter. That cat manages to avoid all predators, is going to use every one of it's nine lives, will kill that squirrel dead if he catches it, and leave it for the magpies to eat. I can't see the cat running up the side of a house, but it can sure get up that tree with no problem. That cat kills things that are bigger then he is.

It looks like it is going to be another lively spring and summer with the wildlife. The only thing that we haven't encountered so far are the rattle snakes. We have heard plenty of stories about them. We know that they are close by. They have even made nests at our neighbor's houses. We are really hoping that we won't ever be writing a blog about them. That is one part of the wildlife that the dog and I don't wish to encounter at all.

I was extremely tired and fell asleep early last night so I had to take the dog out potty at 2:00 a.m. We saw a rabbit and were thinking that we were safe from predators. However, we did hear an animal calling out from the bushes on the bluff. The rabbit was long gone by now. We had never heard that sound before, so we hurried right back in the house. I wondered if it was a fox, because I don't know what they sound like.

We will have to wait and see what adventures the summer and hiking bring. I'm studying for this huge nationally recognized certification exam for my profession. I take the $400.00 four hour test at the end of June. The studying has hampered our hiking and social life a bit, so I will be glad to get that behind me.

Crazy Colorado Weather

Yesterday it was about 68 degrees without a cloud in the sky. The dog and I went for three walks which totaled about 4 miles. We didn't even need a coat. Today, it got up to 50 degrees without a cloud in the sky. Tonight, I'm sitting in my bedroom looking at the bluff. There is a strong wind, blowing snow, and blizzard conditions. It is probably less then 20 degrees out side. It is amazing that the weather can go from a beautiful spring day to a cold winter blizzard within a couple of hours.

It is dusk. The snow is blowing down from the mountains. The trees and grass are now white. It started as a light rain, then a heavy rain, and now snow. It was really quite beautiful to see the snow blowing through the pine trees. I was just thinking that the bobcats and coyotes are going to have a difficult time finding their dinner in the blizzard. Just as I thought that, two rabbits came running down out of the trees at full speed. Usually the rabbits run into the trees. I watched to see if a predator came by but didn't see any. Those rabbits were lucky tonight. It's good that they can run fast. The wind is now blowing so hard that the house is shaking and it is howling outside the windows and through the trees. I'm glad I'm inside tonight.

The dog and I have picked up some winter fat. We need to get back to hiking so we can be fit and trim. I've put the dog on a diet weather he likes it or not. He's got to lose 2 to 3 lbs and I've got to lose 10. At exactly this time last year, I was in Fiji and seven pounds lighter. While I was gone, they had a huge snow storm here where most people weren't able to even make it to work. By the time I got back from vacation or Holiday as they would call it in Fiji, the snow was all gone and melted. Crazy Colorado Weather, that is for sure.

Call of the Wild

Three days ago my doorbell rings. It's my neighbor bringing me flowers. I asked her what the special occasion was. She said that the special occasion was that her husband bought her flowers for Valentines Day but they were going out of town and wanted someone to enjoy the flowers while they were still looking beautiful. I happily accepted. While she was here, she apologized for ringing my doorbell so late the other night. I told her that I was sick the other day and must not have heard the door bell. The dog usually barks, but I must not have heard him either. She said that she came to to check on the dog. She had heard a woman screaming, heard yelping, and heard a pack of wild coyotes howling. She heard the woman scream, "you let him go". She wanted to warn us to be careful. Sure enough, three days later I was sitting at my table eating dinner, listening to the radio, and enjoying the vase of beautiful flowers when I noticed the dogs ears perk up. I then realized that the howling I was hearing was actually not part of the music on the radio. I turned off the radio to hear a pack of wild coyotes right outside my patio howling and my dog was now howling right along with them wanting to run with the pack. I finished my dinner and called my mom. I told my mom that I was officially scared. She said, "you are officially, what"? I said, "scared". She said, "scared, what are you scared of"? I said that I was scared to take my dog outside to go potty. She asked why and I told her about the coyotes. She said, "oh, a pack of wild coyotes can be very vicious". I finished the conversation and hung up. I started devising a plan as to how the dog could go potty before bed without getting eaten for dinner. We have survived the bobcats, the mad deer, and the bears. The bears like my neighbors outside garbage can and stay away from mine since I keep it empty until garbage day. Now we have to beware of the wild pack of coyotes. I decided that the dog was going to have to hurry to go potty instead of lallygagging around. Maybe I forgot to tell him that. I put him on his leash. We went out the front door instead of the back door that leads to the patio. I stayed on the porch. He lifted his leg a couple of times but before he could do all of his business he saw something around the corner and started growling. I decided that was good enough and we quickly went back in the house. At 3:00 a.m., the dog decides that he has got to finish his business now and can't wait until morning. He wakes me up with his incessant crying. I put my coat and boots on, get his leash, and go out the front door again with the temperature at 3 degrees F. He lifts his leg a few times and then finally decides to do his business. I'm now settled back into bed. The lights are off. It is perfectly quiet. I'm trying to go back to sleep. The dog starts barking at something right outside the window by where he likes to sleep. I figure that the coyotes have come back. I'm glad that we missed them by about 20 minutes. I watched a short video clip on how to keep coyotes out of your neighborhood. It said to make sure that you don't leave out any food, dog food, or garbage. That is not going to work at my house, because there is a scamper load of bunny rabbits that like to hang out in my back yard. When the coyotes are hungry, they are going to stop by for an easy meal feasting on juicy rabbit. As long as they are not feasting on me or my dog, we should be fine.

Frolicking in the Snow

It snowed yesterday, today, and is supposed to snow tomorrow and the next day. No hiking today. Instead we went to a park and frolicked in the snow. Aspen met a new friend named Gus. We saw his other friends named Laurel and Missy. He played with three other dogs but we don't know their names. We had tons of fun. Aspen loves the snow except when it balls up and freezes in his paws then he tries to bite off the frozen little balls of snow. We had fun in the snow now I'm watching the Time Traveler's Wife. I just finished watching Julie and Julia. When the weather outside is frightful a good video is always nice to watch.

St. Mary's Falls

This was the half way mark. It was a total of 6 miles round trip.

Hiking at Blodgett

Today, the dog and I decided to try out a new place. We went to Blodgett Peak Open Space. We got a late start at about 4:00 p.m. It gets dark around 6:00 p.m. so we had plenty of time. The dog is always thrilled to try out new places. That means there are plenty of new spots to sniff. The trails were partially dry, partially muddy, and partially snowy and icy. There were some ominous clouds in the sky. It was about 42 degrees. I layered my clothes and wore a hat and gloves. Since it was mostly cloudy it made it a little chilly. We saw two bikers, one runner, one man with his dog and another lady hiker so the trails were pretty quiet. We stayed mostly on the main trail and tried a couple of side trails. It did actually snow a tad bit on us for a couple of minutes. The most eventful thing that happened on this hike was that the dog wanted to pull me down the steep part of the trail that had snow and ice. I had to take him off his leash while we went down the steep part so that I could pick my way through the ice. We then lost the trail under the snow and came to a dead end that went into some thick brush. This is when my son called on my cell phone twice to get his bank account number. It still amazes me to be able to take a call while hiking in the mountains. We looked for a couple other ways out but couldn't find the trail out. We back tracked not looking forward to going up the steep part with the ice. Fortunately, after back tracking, we found another trail and was able to avoid the steep icy part. This led us back to the main trail. It was a little annoying because the dog was now back on his leash and decided he wanted to run back to the car. I had to keep slowing him up especially through the snowy and icy parts. It was a beautiful place. A good hike for the end of a busy day. Not too strenuous but a pretty good work out, beautiful mountain scenery, and beautiful scenery looking over the city. We will be going there again. There are some other side trails that we want to check out. The dog did have to have a paw and belly wash when we got home. I'm always glad that I keep a couple of old towles in the trunk to keep the back seat from getting muddy.

Hiking at the Garden

An Apostle Speaks at Airforce Academy Chapel

I had the privilege of attending an event at the U.S. Air force Academy Chapel. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf spoke to the graduating cadets that were of our religion. The cadets sang a couple of songs before he spoke. My friend that attends a singles ward told me of an experience that her friend had. He was a cadet and was asked to take President Uchtdorf on a tour of the academy. A bunch of fellow cadets asked him why he was dressed in his whites that day. He was having a hard time explaining who exactly President Uchtodorf was and what he meant to the members of his church. Another cadet explained it very well to everyone. He asked if they knew who Peter, James, and John were in the New Testament. They said that they did know who they were. He said, "Well, President Uchtdorf would be "John"." The other cadets then understood very well what position in our church President Uchdorf held.

The story that President Uchtdorf told to the cadets was an experience that his wife had when she was young and lived in post war Germany. Her mother was pulling her along in a red wagon. They came upon an American Soldier. Sister Uchtdorf was really taken with this soldier especially after he bent over and gave her a piece of chewing gum. She had never had chewing gum before or even knew what it was. She put it in her mouth and chewed, and chewed, and chewed. She finally asked her mother what in the world it was she was chewing, and her mother tried to explain it to her. After chewing it for quite sometime, she took it out, wrapped it up, and saved it to chew some more later. Needless to say, this soldier left a positive and lasting impression on her. Some time later, some missionaries knocked on their door. This was after her father had died. Sister Uchtdorf answered the door and immediately remembered the soldier that had given her the gum because these missionaries reminded her of the soldier. She ran and told her mother that some missionaries were at the door. Her mother told her to send them away. She went back to the door then went back to her mother. She said, "but Mom they are really really nice". He mother said, "Okay, well invite them in then." Needless to say they were baptised and now she is married to "John" or an Apostle of the Lord. President Uchtdorf told this story to remind the cadets that they too can make a lasting impression on people that they come in contact with all over the world and they should be kind and set the best example that they can.

For me, it was well worth attending this meeting to hear an Apostle of the Lord in person and feel of the spirit that he carries with him. It is an experience that has made a lasting impression on me. I'm glad that I was able to attend.

Ute Valley Park

We were going hiking with a friend today. Unfortunately, he had to help another friend of mine move. By the time he was done, he was to exhausted to go hiking. The dog and I decided that we would not let that hamper our hiking plans on such a beautiful January day of 43 degrees and not a cloud in sight. We decided on Ute Valley Park. We quickly discovered that there were lots of people including bikers that were taking advantage of the nice weather. We purposely walked right past the trail that led back up to the way we came and decided to walk farther. I never bothered to look at a map of the park and didn't even know what the main trails were. We got off on a side trail and quickly discovered that there were no other hikers around anymore. I looked down in the sand and snow and noticed that there were no shoe, dog, or bike prints. We walked a little further and I quickly noticed some very big paw prints with huge claws in the prints. I surmised that those were much bigger then any dog I had even seen. We decided that those very well could be bobcat or mountain lion prints. I reminded myself that the bears would be hibernating this time of year. We came upon another side trail that seemed better then the one we were on. I noticed dog prints and shoe prints and felt much better. We followed this trail because it was going in the direction that we wanted to go. This trail led us down to a creek bed that was frozen over. I decided to keep the dog on his leash. I didn't want him to sniff out a snoozing bobcat or mountain lion or a hibernating bear. I usually let him off his leash when we go through trees or steep parts but not today. The trail went right onto a frozen creek bed. We slipped and slided our way up the creek stepping up icy little waterfalls. At one point, I could hear the water running under the ice and could hear the ice cracking. I didn't worry too much, because it would have only been ankle deep if the ice broke. At one point, the dog made it up an icy waterfall. I struggled a bit getting up the ice so he used all of his 41 pounds to pull me up. There were still no people, no dogs, no bikes, no voices, no nothing except the shoe prints and dog prints in the snow. As we were walking down this frozen creek bed, I saw perfect napping spaces for wild animals under these huge rocks. I was relieved that when I looked back into the crevices there was nothing there sleeping. I then saw a cave that went back into and under the rocks. I was almost positive that if I went back in that cave like crevice we would have found a hibernating bear. I was glad that I had decided to keep the dog on his leash. The last thing we needed was him to sniff out a wild animal or a hibernating bear. There was a fairly steep, icy, and narrow spot where the dog scrambled down and was about to pull me down so I threw the leash on down knowing that he would wait for me. There were still shoe and dog prints so we kept following that trail. Finally, we came up and found the main trail. I now knew exactly where we were. We quickly passed a mom and her kids and their big black dog that Aspen had to say hi too. We back tracked and walked for quite some time until we were back at the trail head we started at. We called it a good two hour hike and went home.

Beware of Deer

It was a peaceful Sunday evening in October 2009. I was taking the dog out one final time for the night. It was almost dark. As we went onto the grass, three very friendly looking deer came by. We live near a mountain so there is lots of wildlife that we encounter. We assumed that these were doe's, because they didn't have antlers. There was a bigger one and two smaller ones. A smaller one ran up into the bluff. The bigger one stayed by the bluff. The other smaller one started walking towards us with it's head down. My dog was on his chain. I was holding onto the chain plus the chain was hooked to a wooden post. The dog was not barking but wagging his tail and wondering about this deer that was looking so friendly. I decided that it was really quite unusual behavior for a deer to be walking towards us. They usually run away. I decided that the dog and I would go back into the patio and shut the gate. I started pulling on the chain and moving myself and the dog backwards into the patio area. Without warning, the deer took off on a dead run directly at us and started trying to trample the dog. The bigger deer was standing back by the bluff still and making some snorting noises. The dog started barking and took off running as far as his chain would allow. He had jerked the chain out of my hands but it was still secured to the post. The dog and the deer ran around the corner and were out of my view for about 15 seconds. I ran after the both of them and started yelling at the deer and waving my arms. I grabbed the dogs chain and pulled him back into the patio. I shut the gate and kept watching the deer. It now was looking like it was going to run and jump the fence into the patio. I started banging on the wood and yelling. It finally walked back over to the bigger deer and they ran up onto the bluff. The dog and I were a bit shaken. Now we have never thought much about deer. We usually just leave them alone and they leave us alone. We do, however, think of them much differently now. They are bigger then we are. They weigh a lot more then we do. Their hooves are deadly. When we go out for a walk and run across some deer, we walk way out around them and give them a lot of space. I was concerned that maybe the dog was hit by one of the deers hooves and I was terrified that he was hurt. When I thought about it further, I realized that I never heard the dog yelp so he must have escaped all contact from that deer. The dog is not to fond of being trampled to death, so he doesn't wag his tail at deer anymore. He is perfectly happy to give them their space. If they look like they are getting too close, his communication with them is a growl and lots of barking. Shortly after this happened to us, I heard a story on the news about a lady that wasn't as fortunate as we were. She was actually trying to feed a deer. The deer trampled her and wouldn't stop attacking her until it was shot. Luckily, the lady lived but was seriously injured. People laugh when I tell them I was nearly attacked by a deer but I take it seriously. I asked my oldest son where he was when the deer was attacking us. He said that he thought the dog was just barking at a rabbit and I was scolding the dog for barking. I told him that he could start taking the dog out when it was getting dark.

Nature up Close and Personal

We live fairly close to a mountain and often find wildlife in our own backyard. It was early on a weekday morning. I had to visit our Denver Branch and had to get an early start. At 5:30 a.m. I decided to put the dog outside on his chain so that he could go potty. I left the back door open so that I could keep an eye on him while I put my laptop in its case and got my things together. I heard some magpies (meat eating birds) squaking. They are pretty noisey birds anyways. There must have been 5 or 6 birds squaking. Pretty soon it sounded like they were screaming. I started to worry about the dog and decided that I had better go check on him even though I could see out the back door to where he was at. As I was walking towards the back door, I wondered if those magpies were after my dog because I had never heard them screem like that before. I walked outside and saw a Bobcat sitting about 3 feet from my dog and looking at eating him for breakfast. The dog was facing the opposite direction and didn't even notice the bobcat. He was a little confused by the screaming magpies. I grabbed his chain and pulled him into the house very quickly. I watched the Bobcat. It had very long legs and was much bigger then I pictured a bobcat to be. It must have been twice as big as my 41 pound dog. The bobcat finally decided that it's breakfast was gone so it left. The magpies were screaming, because the bobcat was so close to their nests. My dog owes those magpies his life. Even though the bobcat was looking at eating my dog for breakfast, I must admit it was very majestic looking.

Green Mountain Falls

It was the 4th of July weekend of 2009. The dog and I wanted to find a place where we could hike next to some water. Someone at work told us about Green Mountain Falls. We printed trail information from the Internet and started on our way. It was partly cloudy and very nice. Not too hot. We parked by the lake and walked up some streets to find the trail head. It wasn't very easy to find. There were no signs to point the way. I pulled out my GPS and it got us there. There is no parking by the trail head. By the time you walk from the lake to the trail head you feel like you have already had your hike. There were not many people around and the clouds were getting more ominous. We made it to the trail head and noticed three hikers coming down. As we got closer, we discovered that they were three rough looking males with a dog that could have eaten my dog for lunch. We prayed that they weren't drunk and would not pay any attention to us. They passed by keeping their dog close to them and saying hello. We made it to the first waterfall and decided we had better get back before it started to rain. We picked-up our pace and got back to the road wishing that they had parking closer by. It started to thunder very loudly. My dog is terrified of thunder and started going nuts, barking, running, pulling on his leash, and going in circles. Now the rain was a down pour and we became drenched very quickly. We took refuge under a nice thick pine tree and waited for the down pour to stop. It was too late. The dog and I looked like a pair of drowned rats. The three males and their dog were running down the street more soaked then we were. Soon the down pour turned into a drizzle so we went to the Post Office and sat on the bench outside. Some young adults came and sat by us. They spend the summer in Green Mountain Falls and live in another state back east. They love the summers there even though it had rained every afternoon this summer. We called it an adventure and headed back to the car. Fortunately, I had a towel in the trunk for the dog to sit on. We went home and both took a bath separately of coarse.