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As you can see, we’re still waiting for the glory of Spring to arrive here. We had a few beautiful days in the sixties a couple of weeks ago, and then winter came back with a vengence. Despite the weather, the Spring migration of birds has begun. I’ve been seeing all kinds of ducks as well as some gulls and one avocet. The herons are back and the pelicans should be in soon. I hope to get some good shots this year to share.
Winter has come to the west slope! The snow is falling, the temperature is dropping, and school is out for Christmas break. Now, if the elk would just start moving so we can fill our freezer for the year 
.
(The photo above is of our church parking lot being cleared off by the snowblower)
Day is dying in the west;
Heaven is touching earth with rest;
Wait and worship while the night
Sets the evening lamps alight
Through all the sky.
Refrain
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts!
Heaven and earth are full of Thee!
Heaven and earth are praising Thee,
O Lord most high!
Lord of life, beneath the dome
Of the universe, Thy home,
Gather us who seek Thy face
To the fold of Thy embrace,
For Thou art nigh.
While the deepening shadows fall,
Heart of love enfolding all,
Through the glory and the grace
Of the stars that veil Thy face,
Our hearts ascend.
When forever from our sight
Pass the stars, the day, the night,
Lord of angels, on our eyes
Let eternal morning rise
And shadows end.
- Lyrics by Mary Lathbury
- Photograph taken in Dinosaur National Monument near sundown.
Let’s just say I’m pretty excited today. Last night my deacons presented me with a Nikon Fieldscope for my birthday/pastor appreciation. This is a high power spotting scope that will bring animals (or whatever) that are hundreds of feet away right up to your face. The best part? Nikon makes an attachment for my D80, so I can digitally photograph those up close images. It’s called digiscoping, and I can’t wait to get started. Get ready for some “up close and personal” wildlife shots!
Last night I had the unique opportunity of going into the national park and observing part of a government study on bat populations. If I remember correctly, this study is part of a follow-up to a similar project conducted in the ’80s, with the goal of comparing the results of the bat species in various parts of the park to see how things have changed/remained the same.
(Pallid Bat)
The researchers use a special type of bat netting (pictured below) to capture the bats. Although you can see it in the flash photo below, once dusk settles in, it is virtually impossible to see even with the human eye. The nets are set up in areas (mostly along pools of water) where bats tend to travel. When they fly into it, they get tangled up and the researches can then handle them and take down the information they need.
(Bat Net)
It was a relatively slow evening. We only ended up with three bats in hand, even though they were flying all around us. Only a few nights before they captured ninety-five bats in another part of the park. I believe they had counted a total of fifteen or sixteen different species.
(Fringe-Tailed Myotis)
The three species we saw last night were the Fringe-Tailed Myotis, the Pallid Bat, and the Hoary Bat. The first two were rather gentle, but the Hoary Bat was downright ferocious. Needless to say, I didn’t handle any bats, but I was thrilled that they let me come and take some pictures. It was definitely a “Discovery Channel” moment.
(Hoary Bat)
The mountains around our town were once home to Fremont Native Americans long before any Europeans discovered the New World. It seems that many archaeologist believe that the Fremont culture emerged in Northwest Colorado somewhere between 2500 to 1500 years ago, and eventually vanished by about 1500 AD.
Scattered throughout the area one can find various exhibits of this peoples’ rock art, both in the form of pictographs and petroglyphs. Most of these sites are marked off and on display for public viewing. There are, however, some lesser known treasures off the beaten path, if one knows where to look.
Today I took a trip into the mountains with a good friend who knows where to look. These petroglyphs are somewhat different in that they’re not presented on the side of a cliff wall. These were etched into the black desert varnish on the ground.
The petroglyph above is a picture of an elk with the tines pointing backward. Did they see some unique, out of the ordinary elk?
I especially like this one above. Was this the product of some kids having fun, or do we have here an early sighting of a visitor from the sky?????
Although theories abound, nobody really knows what purpose the rock art served. Whether it was a way of recording history, communicating, or just passing the time, they are quite the sight to behold.
For our final evening in Mississippi, Julie took the kids out to their cousins’ grandparents’ place to go fishing (Uncle Tim and I, on the other hand, hit the golf course). I’m glad cousin Abby was taking photos with grandma’s camera, because it turned out to be quite an exciting night.
Here’s how it all went down. Philip had his line cast out in in the pond, when a fish suddenly struck. Startled and excited, Philip began to reel in. Although still a ways out in the water, the fish surfaced to the top and looked to be a quite a catch for a little guy like Philip.
But then the unexpected happened. Seemingly out of nowhere, a snake appeared and struck the defenseless fish. But as the snake was trying to kill the fish, the snake got caught on the hook. Philip reeled them in together. He caught a fish and a snake!
I can’t tell for sure (if any of you know, please tell us), but it looks like a water moccasin (cotton mouth), which are deadly. As you can tell from the photo, Grandpa introduced the slithering creature to his shotgun. At any rate, Philip sure was proud!!
Last night we watched a fireworks show at the marina. You can see those photos here.
Tomorrow we head out bright and early from Mississippi and travel back to southwest Missouri for a few days.
Yesterday Uncle Tim took the boys out on the boat with their cousins, Maty and Grant. This was a new experience for the boys since our type of “outdoor adventure” usually involves mountains, not lakes.
The main event was tubing, and Philip was up first. His cousin, Maty, joined him for the leisurely ride.
Up next were Brennan and Grant.
Here they are giving us the thumbs up! Let’s go!
We started out at a nice pace that kept everything fun and everyone happy.
But then it got a little dicey.
What a great time the boys had! You can view more photos here.
View more by category: Outdoors (25), Brennan (24), Gracie (18), Philip (17), Thad (12), Wildlife (9), Emelia (9), The Noyes Boys (6), Julie (5), Just For Fun (3). Or by month: June 2009. Or visit the Complete Archive.
