Standing Into Danger: muleys

Showing posts with label muleys. Show all posts

Friday, May 15, 2026

Open Your Eyes!

Our spring snowstorm arrived on schedule, and I am so grateful that I'm retired.

I hated commuting on snowy, icy roads.

Terry and I were warm and cozy even though the power went out for a bit.

Spring Snow ~ Can you spot the deer hunkered down in the center?

Aurora, Colorado, ⁨USA

May 6, 2025

One week later it was 80ºF at lunchtime.

Such is springtime on the high plains of Colorado.

Cottonwoods Leafing

Along Piney Creek

Aurora, Colorado, ⁨USA

May 9, 2026

This month, I've been out and about enjoying all the springtime sights ~

like the water skippers I first saw as a small child on a calm pond.

They delight me every time I spot them.

Water Skipper ~ Gerridae

Along Piney Creek

Aurora, Colorado, ⁨USA

May 9, 2026

Baby black-tailed prairie dogs are so cute, and I look for them every spring.

These five raced for their burrow, the moment they saw me inching closer.

Baby Black-tailed Prairie Dogs Running for Cover

Red-tailed Hawk Park

Aurora, Colorado, ⁨USA

May 11, 2026

Old Man Cottonwood is still surviving, many years after he toppled over.

I'm always wary when I walk around massive cottonwoods.

They are under stress from our severe drought in recent years,

and so many huge limbs and trees have come crashing down.

Old Man Cottonwood

Along Piney Creek

Aurora, Colorado, ⁨USA

May 2, 2026

Peek-a-Boo! I see you!

Over the years, I've gotten very good at spying mule deer in secluded spots.

Their adorable, exceptionally large ears give them away.

Muley Deer

Along Piney Creek

Aurora, Colorado, ⁨USA

May 9, 2026

Sometimes the mule deer are easy to see.

They like to lie down on the lawns around houses adjoining the park.

I came upon four bucks behind a fence on such a lawn.

I tried to get closer for better photos, but the biggest male began to make

distressing, growling sounds I've never heard from a muley before.

He was also standing up, unlike the other three.

I beat a hasty retreat. 😂

Three Bucks

(The one on the right is likely a "button" buck because his antlers haven't emerged yet.)

Along Piney Creek

Aurora, Colorado, ⁨USA

May 9, 2026

The Big Growling Buck

Along Piney Creek

Aurora, Colorado, ⁨USA

May 9, 2026

While we were in Hawai'i, I missed part of a nearby project on Sampson Gulch.

The existing basin has been enlarged, and flood control channels have been added.

It's so frustrating that I haven't been able to learn more about this project,

because it's really interesting to see the work that's happening.

Samson Gulch Catchment Basin

Aurora, Colorado, ⁨USA

May 11, 2026

Samson Gulch Catchment Basin

Aurora, Colorado, ⁨USA

May 11, 2026

Installing More Flood Controls Features Farther Down Sampson Gulch

Aurora, Colorado, ⁨USA

May 11, 2026

From the massive to the tiny, we live in such a fascinating world.

A Bee Pollinating Chokecherry Flowers

Along Sampson Gulch

Aurora, Colorado, ⁨USA

May 11, 2026

Sometimes you don't have to move beyond your doorstep to see something amazing ~

Like this mourning dove sitting patiently on her nest above our garage door

while I swept our front porch. She didn't move a feather!

Little Mama Mourning Dove

Our Home

Aurora, Colorado, ⁨USA

May 11, 2026

As Anthony Doerr wrote in All the Light We Cannot See,

“Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever.”

Look at the wonders all around you. It's a magnificent world!

Like thisI'm linking to Gillena's Lunch Break, Nicole's Friday Face Off, Tom's Aloha Friday, and Debra's She Who Seeks.

Have a great weekend!

Till next time ~

Fundy Blue

Standing Into Danger https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com

My next post will be IWSG Day

Wednesday, May 22nd. 🤞

On the Bay of Fundy
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved

Friday, September 22, 2023

Happy Things!

This week I needed an attitude adjustment after hiding under the covers last week.

I really had no choice, so I got after what I unexpectedly had to do.

When I headed out to do some of those things, I had a lovely surprise.

Lounging under the blue spruce across the street were two beautiful mule deer.

I adore the muleys' ears! They remind me that big ears can be cute!

I took that as a sign that I was doing what I should: adjusting my attitude.

Beautiful Mule Deer

Aurora, Colorado, USA

September 16, 2023

Two weeks ago I had a routinely-scheduled mammogram.

That number that kept calling my iPhone afterwards,

the one I didn't pick up for days because I didn't recognize it,

it was the breast care center.

I had to come back for more tests asap: One reason for the covers over my head.

No matter how friendly the people are and how cheery the facility is,

it's hard to wait in a robe for a radiologist to examine your latest scans,

especially when cancer is rampant in your family tree.

HealthONE Breast Care Center at Centennial Hospital

Aurora, Colorado, USA

September 14, 2023

Fortunately, the news was great, and I didn't have to have a scheduled ultrasound

after the additional mammograms. Terry and I were beyond relieved!

My other aggravation is taking way more time than one anxious afternoon,

but I should have it resolved within the next week.

Meanwhile I'm cramming as many happy thoughts as I can into my brain.

Coming Up Roses

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

September 12, 2017

Earlier this year when I was in Maui,

I came across a touching tribute to a feral cat named Rusty.

I started donating to the National Wildlife Federation in his honor.

Its magazine National Wildlife is beautiful and hopeful.

Rusty the Cat

Wailea, Maui, Hawaii

January 18, 2023

This week in the magazine I read a heartwarming story about Bobbi Wilson,

a proactive 10-year-old who is making a difference in her New Jersey community.

If you ever were a young geeky naturalist following your outdoor passions,

you will love this story. You'll love it regardless!

"Fourth Grader vs. Spotted Lanternfly" by Shantal Riley, Summer 23, National Wildlife.

Bobbi became concerned about an Asian invasive species,

the spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula),

and she joined New Jersey's eradication campaign in 2022.

The pest arrived in Pennsylvania in 1914 and has now spread throughout the Northeast.

It eats everything, causing wilting, defoliation, low-yielding crops, and plant death.

Spotted Lanternflies on a Red Maple

Wikimedia ~ License

The pest can look like a beautiful butterfly, but it is a planthopper,

one of thousands of insect species that get their name

from their remarkable resemblance to vegetation in their environment

and their ability to hop around like a grasshopper.

Spotted Lanternfly Displaying Underwing

Wikimedia ~ Licence

Bobbi began eliminating the spotted lanternflies

in her neighborhood with her own bug spray recipe.

Like all good scientists, she recorded her observations

and experimented to improve her spray.

Sadly, last year, the then 9-year-old, was reported to the police

by a former New Jersey Councilman who lived across the street from her.

He was scared by a tiny, hooded Black woman spraying the sidewalks,

and a police officer quickly arrived to investigate.

Fortunately, the story has an inspiring non-racist ending.

Shortly after the neighbor's 911 call,

Bobbi's 13-year old sister and father spoke at a borough council meeting,

and Bobbi's story was picked up by the local press.

A female Black professor of Public Health at Yale University

invited the family to visit the campus.

During their visit a Yale Peabody Museum manager said

that the museum didn't have any spotted lanternflies in its collection.

He explained how to freeze and ship specimens to the museum,

and Bobbi was soon collecting and shipping the planthoppers there.

Her donations were accepted, and the museum named its new collection after Bobbi.

Yale News

Bobbi also visited Princeton University's Plasma Laboratory

and received an award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

She was honored during Black History Month

at the governor's mansion for her contributions to the state.

Bobbi and her sister Hayden received full scholarships to attend

the New Jersey Institute of Technology's 2023 STEM summer camp.

This remarkable young girl wants to be a chemist,

so she can try to make things that people need.

Bobbi's story raised my spirits like nothing else could!

I was that young geeky girl once (still am inside),

although my story, which the press spread across Canada

over sixty years ago, did not have as inspiring an ending.

Young children are amazing!

They have the power to change their world!

Flickr ~ Lighttruth ~ License

I wasn't sure what to link to Nicole's Friday Face Off, and then fortune smiled on me!

Recently I shared two Teddy Swims music videos in a post.

I've been gorging on his singing, and yesterday YouTube sent me to a new video of his.

"Til I Change Your Mind" features one of Teddy's talented band members,

Addy Maxwell, creating a surprising work of art.

I was going to send a link to Debra, She Who Seeks,

because it reminded me of the detailed art techniques she uses.

But then I thought I'd share it with everyone in today's post.

Some people like Addy are unbelievably talented in multiple areas.

Til I Change Your Mind

Teddy Swims and Addy Maxwell

Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, I hope fortune is smiling on you!

Have a great weekend!

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue

My next post will be soon! 🤞

Books Read in 2026

"18 Days in Heaven" by Gale Poirot
"A Serial Killer's Daughter: My Story of Hope, Love, and Overcoming" by Kerrie Rawson
"Eat Your Ice Cream: Six Simple Rules for a Long and Healthy Life" by Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD.
"Is Math Real? How Simple Questions Lead Us to Mathematics Deepest Truths" by Eugenia Cheng
"Project Hail Mary" by Andy Weir
"Tell Me Everything" by Elizabeth Strout
"The Covenant of Water" by Abraham Verghese
"The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity" by David Graeber and David Wengrow
"The Life Impossible" by Matthew Haig
"The Lord go the Rings" by JRR Tolkien
"The Match" by Harlan Corben
"The Night the Path Disappeared" by Terri Bergen
"The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper" by Roland Allen
"Theo of Golden" by Allen Levi
"Think Twice" by Harlan Corben
"Why Christianity Must Change Or Die" by John Shelby Spong

Standing Into Danger

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Friday, May 15, 2026

Open Your Eyes!

Friday, September 22, 2023

Happy Things!

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