Little Bits of This, Little Bets On That and Other Little Things

This past weekend was filled with a "little bits"

Little Bits of chores, Little Bits of Fun, Little Bets and Other Little Things

Little Hike on Saturday testing out a new 50L pack back....I like it!

"Little Bit" of Bird watching.

My new wood pecker friend was really going at it on one of the dead Pinyon pine trees. The echos of his work was the only sound to be heard on this peaceful late afternoon.  Got a decent look at it but couldn't confirm at 100% the species.  Was unsure of whether it to be a Downy or Hairy Woodpecker. If I was to make a "Little Bet", I believed it to be a male Downy.  He was fun to watch. I am amazed they don't get a "Little" headache with all the pecking they do.

Downy Woodpecker

Hairy Woodpecker

We hung a hummingbird feeder Saturday afternoon and we made a "Little Bet" how long it would take them to find it. They found it in less than 24 hours. One "Little Guy", perhaps the explorer who discovered this hummingbird "goldmine", became very protective of it, as he perched himself in a nearby tree and chased others away.

Sunday, shortly after sunrise, we were treated to a "Little Flock" of a dozen or so of Pinyon Jays, all being more than a "Little" raucous in their calls and behavior.

Pinyon Jay

A lot of "Little" Salamanders scurrying about on the trails, around the property, everywhere, seemed to be a "Little More" than I've seen of late....Are the predators soon to follow??

Took the ol' 1983 Yamaha 550 aka "The Beast" [First Real Trail Ride on "The Beast"] out of the shed just to awaken it from its long slumber. It started on first kick, as if saying it wanted to go for a ride! I obliged, and took a "Little" ride for an hour or two, just here and there, nearby.  The Beast was very happy and ran like a charm.

Sunday, opted for another training/conditioning hike up Wildrose Trail. This time I loaded the new pack back up to a total weight of 25 pounds....Discovered a 10 pound pack of Krusteaz pancake mix from Costco makes for a great backpack training weight.

On the way up there's a great view at a "Little" different angle of a the ridge to the right on the way to the campground. I do not know the name, if there is one.

Road to the campground would be to the left, about 1.7 miles up Wildrose trail

Another different view of a familiar sight; looking back, mainly south to see the first big turn in the road on the way to the campground.

Looking South from Wildrose Trail,  First Big Turn in Road on way to Campground in Center of  Pic

Continued up the familiar Wildrose Trail to it's maximum height of about 7300 feet (a gain of a "Little" over 1270 feet) which was the 2.61 Mile mark.  Decided to go down a "Little" further to what I believe is Wildrose Meadow, to which I had never before ventured. The extra half mile or so down was worth the effort. I was rewarded to a view of Olancha Peak in the distance. I have mentioned this peak before on my motorcycle trip of last fall [First Real Trail Ride] (about half way through that writing.) where I had a much closer view.

Wildrose Meadow Olancha Peak left of center

Olancha Peak from Wildrose Meadow

A safe return. The 25 pound loaded backpack was great over the 6.2 mile round trip.

On the two hikes and around our property I was amazed at the "Little Flowers". Lots of "Little Flowers" in the middle of plain old sand.  Some in small clusters but many singular.  Easy to miss, but once I paid attention they seemed to be everywhere.  How they can flower in the middle of the sand I do not know.

"Little White Five Pedal" Notice the "Little Guys" below the finger

Little Fuzzy White Flowers

The Really Little One is white, close to the finger, The Little Five Pedal Purple one is HUGE compared to that one.

A weekend filled with "Lots of Little"

But with "Huge Enjoyment" in these "Little" Things

Gray Fox sighting on an otherwise "slow" weekend

This past weekend was cool and very windy. As such, I was more motivated to do some chores around the cabin rather than going for a hike.  This is quite unusual, but in the end felt good about getting some things in order.

A major task was dealing with the downed dead trees. (from posts a while back) It was time to deal with the huge piles of small branches with the brown needles.  Did a lot "barrel" burning of these small branches with a screened lid, but have much more to do.

So a slow weekend but this place never ceases to provide at least one interesting sighting or event per trip.

As I happened to look out the cabin window around 1:30 pm on Saturday, I saw some movement and then got a great view of an animal not 30 feet away. It scampered about up and around the rocks of the small ridge just off the south side of the cabin.  I thought it a fox but noticed a black "stripe" on the bushy tail. A good 30 second or so look seemed to be enough to identify it. An immediate visit to my reference book clearly showed that it was a gray fox.  The absolute certainty came from what the book called a "black mane" on the tail.

Later that evening, as darkness was approaching, we were visited by this new found friend again.

It is a goal of mine to learn as much as I can about what I observe in this great place. As this was my first ever sighting of a Gray Fox, a little research was in order.

Below are Gray Fox facts which I found to be the most interesting:

The Gray Fox:
A member of the dog family
The only member of the dog family who regularly climbs trees!!, They do this in search of food or to escape its enemies, one of which is the Red Fox.
It is smaller than a Coyote and is 30 to 45 inches long (I would guess the one I saw was on the very small side)
They eat small rodents, but also eat rabbits, eggs, insects, birds, fruits, acorns and berries (I wonder if they eat pinyon nuts??)
They can run up to 28 mph.
They often create dens in tree hollows or "nests" which may be 30 feet off the ground. They also may dig out a den in areas which may be as much as 75 feet long with many exits and numerous chambers for food storage and transfer of young when one area becomes soiled.
They can hunt in day or night and are crepuscular (new word for me, try saying that a few times quickly after a glass or two of wine or beer or even water!)

cre·pus·cu·lar  krəˈpəskyələr
adjective
adjective crepuscular
of, resembling, or relating to twilight.
(of an animal) appearing or active in twilight.  (Google Dictionary)

GREAT PIC OF GRAY FOX

My references and for further reading can be found at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_fox
http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/grayfox.htm
http://www.desertusa.com/animals/gray-fox.html
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/grey_fox.htm
http://tracker.cci.fsu.edu/greyfox/about/where/
http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/detail.asp?recNum=MA0019