Jay Toups

Lovable, gentle, wise and wonderful 15 year old Mr. Chu passed away on Sunday, July 18. He’d been suffering his age for a while, so it was a relief to have him go peacefully in his sleep to the heavenly doggie playground he so richly deserved. We’re going to miss him!

Chuman was an inspiration to all on matters of general dogginess, exhibiting unconditional love, patience, understanding, tolerance, having a good disposition, and self discipline. He was my best doggy friend from the time we laid eyes on each other back in 1996 or so, when Paul Boruff brought him over to my place to see if I wanted him, talking about “…otherwise it’s going to the dog pound!” Young pit bull had been wandering around a small park near Paul’s house and needed a home. One look at those frightened, curious puppy eyes and I was his.

He was well liked around the neighborhood, always on his best behavior, even when visiting dogs would challenge him with a nip and a ferocious bark. He seldom got angry, and when he did it was for a good reason and usually over in about ten seconds. He was an equanimous doggie. He was good even when he was bad.

I have lots of pics and video of Chu to remind me of my precious years with this marvelous animal. Goodbye Mr. Chu.

Young bear out looking for food; turning over rocks and casting his nose wherever he can in search of calories.

Yearling buck takes a grazing break and relaxes under our carport.  I think he likes red!

A pair of Golden eagles enjoys late afternoon thermal updrafts on the West Fork of the Bitterroot river as the Nez Perce canyon drains its warm air for another nighttime. All I had to do was go outside and look up. Luckily the camera was nearby…

Some of my neighbors are turkeys, and some are downright squirrelly.  This little guy gets around.

This morning I woke up to the sounds of elk calves calling their mothers, and the fathers were close by. They were so close I heard the branches breaking as they walked through the forest just below the house. I counted three 10 point bucks in a herd of about 50 elk.

It’s finally what passes for summer in Montana (It’s 76 F today!) and the Nez Perce Road is full of butterflies. Here they’re lining up on a tire rut that seems to have particularly tasty minerals. Click the pic for a close up. There’s more to the picture than meets the eye, so click!

Young buck grazing the clover growing along with the daisies and other perennials that abound this time of year. He was quite tame; I was able to approach within 15 feet, talking to him and moving slowly. After taking a few shots with my camera and verbally warning him to “get lost” (he just kept eating…) I turned around and went back into the house for my slingshot and zinged a pebble at him to scare him off. Don’t want him to get too friendly or he’ll wind up in somebody’s freezer sooner rather than later.

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Early this morning, this male Pileated Woodpecker and his mate were making a racket with their calls and beaks, flitting from tree to tree. Finally this handsome fella settled down right outside the window on a stump for a good feast of ants.  These were taken from inside our house in the great room. (Our house concert space/office.)

We are fortunate to live in a beautiful part of the USA with very few people and literally millions of acres of wilderness and abundant wildlife habitat all around us. Here’s a list of the animals we’ve seen since moving here in 1998, and usually from inside our house.

Mammals

• Black Bear
• Northern Gray Wolf
• Lynx
• Ferret
• Wolverine
• Red Fox
• Coyote
• Elk
• Moose
• White Tail Deer
• Mule Deer

Birds

• Turkey
• Great Horned Owl
• Clark’s Nutcracker
• Pileated Woodpecker
• Steller’s Jay
• Robin
• Peregrine Falcon
• Barred Owl
• Western Tanager
• Blue Grouse
• Northern Flicker
• Cassin’s Finch
• Cooper’s Hawk
• Red Tail Hawk
• Golden Eagle
• Great Blue Heron
• Hairy Woodpecker
• Ladder Backed Woodpecker
• Hummingbirds (various)

Amphibians/Reptiles/Fish

• Frog
• Salamander
• Snake
• Trout

I’ll try to figure out exactly what kinds of amphibians, reptiles and fish.

Paul Lyons is a noted “Desert Rat” who finds himself, and lots of other stuff, in the the backcountry of southern Utah and northern Aridzona. This magnificent 10 point elk rack was discovered on the north rim of the Grand Canyon.