Camouflage

One of my favorite shows lately has been The Rifleman. It's an old program that ran from the late 1950's to the early 1960's, black and white, and pretty darn epic. Basically in each episode a problem arises, and Lucas (the main character) solves the problem. Fortunately for me, the viewer, and my desire to be entertained, he usually solves the problem in an awesome manner with his rifle and his almost superhero-like ability to use the rifle.

Humans have come up with some pretty inventive ways to defend themselves, whether it's firearms, martial arts or B.O., we are equipped with many different forms of protection.

Animals are a little different. Unless you watch planet of the apes, animals don't use guns, they won't bust out a Karate move and they don't have the technology we have that helps to keep us safe. They do however defend themselves in different ways. Some animals use poison or venom, some have armor and some just smell really bad. Perhaps the most common form of defense is camouflage. Whether it's a mammal, bird, reptile, insect, etc, camouflage is commonly used. Some animals can even change the color of their camo depending on the season of the year.
When I'm out hiking I always enjoy looking for hidden wildlife, it helps me pay more attention to what's around me. I don't always find something, but more often than not I catch a glimpse of a pretty cool critter.

Just around the corner

There is generally a point in every trail where most people decide they have had enough, and they turn around and go back to where they started. I consider myself lucky, because I CANNOT do that. When I reach that point in the trail, the same questions always come to my mind; "I wonder what's up ahead? I wonder what's around that corner?" Because of this "inability" to turn around and go back, I have seen some of the prettiest landscapes and come across some pretty cool animals as I trek along these unused paths. Whether I'm hiking along a commonly used mountain trail, navigating through the mazes of slot canyons and dried river beds in the desert or following an old game trail that hasn't seen a human visitor in decades, I am never disappointed when the journey comes to an end. If I wasn't restricted by time and day to day responsibilities, if I didn't have a family I cared about, I would probably be one of those guys who goes into the mountains and shows up again months or years later. So next time you are out adventuring, and you reach that certain spot and think you are done, just ask yourself "I wonder what's around that corner?" I promise you wont be disappointed!

Animal Spotlight: The Mule Deer

*He's got a little hat*

About a year and a half ago I did a post about Striped Skunks. At the time I mentioned that I would occasionally do post about animals that I was interested in at the time, or animals I feel are just not very well known or are misunderstood. My whole life I have been fascinated with deer, so I would like to do a post about my favorite, the Mule Deer.

The Mule Deer is probably one of the most commonly seen larger mammals in western North America, and it is probably one of my all time favorite animals. I love watching them and getting to know individuals in their family groups. This year I have been able to spend a lot of time with a family group of 5 Mule Deer somewhat close to home. It has been awesome getting to know them and watching their comfort levels with me increase over time.

*Mule Deer have those BIG ears*

Mule Deer have a few basic characteristics that make them fairly easy to identify when compared to other deer species. First off, they have very large ears (kinda like a Mule's, hence the name) which are almost always moving. They have a white tail with a black tip, in winter their fur turns a pale gray color whereas in summer their fur is almost red.

*Winter social group*

A Mule Deer's diet consists of various leafy plants, grasses, berries and in winter, twigs from various trees and shrubs. Male Mule Deer migrate to higher altitudes in the summer, sometime forming groups. In late autumn to early winter males will descend for "the rut" (this is where they fight for the ladies, but very rarely are they actually hurt), after which they may form groups made up of both males and females. Females generally stay at lower altitudes year-round and form small family groups, these usually include a mother, a pair of yearlings and new babies (usually twins, sometimes 1 or 3 fawns are born).



*You can see the "velvet" covering the antlers*

*Forked antlers*

Males grow antlers which are usually pretty symmetrical. Their antlers fork as they grow unlike White-tailed Deer whose antlers grow off of one main beam. Antlers are shed yearly, usually around February, once shed they begin to grow again. Unlike horns which are made of keratin, antlers are made of bone.

I hope I didn't bore you with my fascination for the Mule Deer. It really is a magnificent animal that I have grown to admire and love. If you ever have an opportunity to just sit and watch them, I advise you take it.

Enjoy the season

*Destination*

*The path less traveled*

I am very unfortunate when it comes to my conversational skills. I acknowledge that I do not hold a conversation well, especially with people I don't know. To add to my misfortune, my job requires me to sit down with multiple strangers on a daily basis, occasionally for extended periods of time. These two things put together have led to many an awkward "conversation" about the weather and whatnot. I live in central Utah and I am actually quite surprised at how many people I meet that just hate the Winter season and the weather that comes with it. Everyday I hear people complaining about the snow and how they have nothing to do because it keeps them indoors, to those people I say, GET A LIFE! Yes, with Winter comes cold temperatures, scraping your windshield and shoveling the sidewalks. But you also get a whole new list of epic activities that you can't do the rest of the year. Trails that you have hiked dozens of times are suddenly transformed. The mountain bike and hiking boots get put away and the skis, snowboard and snowshoes come out from hibernation. There is so much to do during this wonderful season, get out there and live it up, you will enjoy it so much more!

*The wind coming over the peak was whipping the snow all around*

This season I've been able to get in some good camping trips and some excellent snow-shoeing expeditions. This weekend I was able to get out for one of my adventures. Moonlit hiking, set up camp and sleep, wake up, breakfast, read in sleeping bag because it's warm, pack up with frozen fingers, climb to top of mountain, climb down, enjoy every second!

Thimbleberry! What's that?

Raspberries, strawberries, blackberries and blueberries. When you ask somebody what their favorite fruit is, if it's a berry it will probably be one of these. People are familiar with these berries, these are generally the berries that your local grocery store supplies and they're just downright tasty. This year I have spent a lot of time outdoors foraging and looking for edible and medicinal plants. I like to call them the "delicious wild edibles." Native peoples all around the world relied on hunting and gathering to make up a large part of their diets and food supply. We have the convenience of grocery stores and markets today to provide us with our food, but with that we are very limited on what foods we can have and sometimes we have to pay obscene prices for them. This is one of the reasons I love foraging and tending my own garden.

Ripe berry (middle). Unripe berries (sides).

A couple years ago I was camped next to a stream and noticed a plant that was flowering. The bud looked very similar to a raspberry bud but the leavers were HUGE, much bigger than any variety of raspberry leaf I had ever seen. Shortly after that outing I forgot about the plant. This year I remembered and returned to the spot I had previously camped, I identified the plant as a thimbleberry! I have since found about 12 other patches of thimbleberries in various areas. I have returned much since identifying the plant and harvested many of these berries. Thimbleberries look much like raspberries, I find they taste similar but have a much sharper flavor. That is the best way I can think of to describe their flavor. Thimbleberries generally aren't sold commercially because they fall apart so easily and don't ship or store well. A ripe thimbleberry can literally fall off the plant with the slightest touch. Native peoples' had many uses for the thimbleberry. Obviously you can eat the berry, and they are quite tasty. Younger plant shoots can be eaten as well, either peeled and raw or cooked. Personally I just prefer the berry. The leaves are actually so big and quite soft that they were often used as toilet paper (haven't tried that yet). Honestly I don't know how I missed this plant before, it's very noticeable and since learning what it is I feel like I see it just about everywhere. Any time you're dealing with plants whether for eating or medicinal purposes I ALWAYS recommend you start off using them in small increments. Even though some plant may be considered edible, you don't know if you will have allergic reactions. Be safe, be smart and enjoy those "delicious wild edibles!"

Photography and Pokemon

I love trying to get up close to capture the detail.

I've mentioned before that I love photography. There is something special about going outdoors and attempting to capture nature in all it's glory. I especially enjoy taking pictures of animals, whether its a bird, mammal, reptile, etc. Obviously some animals are going to be harder to find than others, and when you do find them you've got to be quick or you might miss your shot. Most animals are very shy and quick to run, so sometimes I'll conceal myself and wait for what seems like forever to try and get that great picture of whatever animal it is I'm out to find.

This would be my "Meowth" if we lived in a Pokémon world!

Even critters I see everyday make great subjects for photos.

On a different note, I grew up when Pokémon was just coming out, it was the big thing at the time. They had the TV show, the cards and the Gameboy game. For those of you not familiar with this fad, the goal of the game was to traverse all different types of terrain, find and catch all 150 Pokémon. Some of these Pokémon you could run into just about anywhere, others were one of a kind.

What am I getting at here?


Photography is a lot like Pokémon! My quest in photography is to get the coolest shots that I can of every different species of animal that I can find. Birds for example; You've got your robins and starlings that you can find just about anywhere, then you've got your quail and pheasants that are harder to find and always seem to run or hide when you do find them. I love the challenge of nature photography and the rewarding feelings that come along with getting that great picture and seeing some awesome wildlife while doing so!

Motivation

It has been a very long time since I have posted anything on this blog. I'll be completely honest, I started the year with big goals to post every week and really try to grow this blog. But after week #1 I just let things get in the way and didn't post anything else, I figured what's the point anyways? But lately I've been reminded of why I started this blog, so I'm gonna try this again.





This year so far has been great, I think I've spent about 90% of my free-time outside. Whether it's biking, hiking, camping, rock-climbing or gardening/foraging you can usually find me outside... somewhere. This past month I have spent 3 of my 4 weekends camping and it has been excellent. When it comes to nature and the outdoors I feel the more you respect nature, the more nature will respect you.
I love nature and have a huge respect for it, but unfortunately not everybody feels the same way. This last weekend I went camping and as I arrived at my previously chosen, relatively secluded spot, what I saw disgusted me. The area was literally covered with trash, broken glass bottles and the vegetation was broken and uprooted as if somebody had driven through it with some sort of vehicle to get to this spot. I don't understand how people can be so disrespectful to their surroundings and all this beauty we have around us. I spent a lot of my time there picking up the garbage and cleaning up the area. I remembered why I started this blog, to help people appreciate, understand and respect the great outdoors and the wonderful plant and animal life that we share with planet with. So I'm really going to try harder with this blog to help educate others about nature and hopefully help others gain that sense of respect towards nature that I feel.

*These pictures have nothing to do with my camping trips, I just thought they were nice. Enjoy*