Archive for the ‘Wild Nature’ Category

Part 2: Aggressive owl clouts runner on the head

Friday, August 6th, 2010

Well, after my magical experience on Wednesday night, I was quite looking forward to my run Thursday night, hoping to see the great grey owls again. On the way down the trail, I didn't see them, but I thought it was still too early. It wasn't quite dusk yet. On ...

Part 1: I heard the owl call the chefs’ names

Friday, August 6th, 2010

Something quite wonderful happened on my run in the Seymour Forest on Wednesday night that I must tell you about. I did a 90-minute run along the Seymour River, where I always finish by coming up a steep 1 KM trail called the Homestead Trail. There is a bend in ...

Dreaming the cougar

Sunday, February 7th, 2010

It is time now to finish the story of the medicine walk and apprenticing on the CA Fall Fast last October. The night before the fasters were due to return, I had a powerful dream. The dream showed me that something had shifted in my psyche as a result of ...

The puzzle of the marks on the tree

Saturday, January 16th, 2010

Hi Amy, I'm answering you as a blog entry rather than a comment, so I can include photos. I've puzzled over the pictures you sent me of marks on a tree, as well as the details about measurements and known wildlife in your area. I also consulted with an expert woodswoman. The ...

Bears a-huffing and a-climbing

Friday, September 18th, 2009

The mystery of the bear poo was solved on Tuesday! I was coming back from a run, along the road by the outhouses, heading toward the barn to get some mouse bait. As the clearing by the barn came into view, I saw four shapes on the grass. It took ...

Q: Does a bear poop in the woods?

Sunday, September 13th, 2009

A: Yes, and so can you! Okay, you're probably thinking I've totally flipped out, if you didn't already think this after some of my previous entries about mouse turds, including "The mystery of the dead animal in my living room," and the moving song "Blue turd on my window sill." But the ...

What, more cows!?

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

It's been a while since I wrote about some mysterious winter visitors that I thought could be wild horses. A friend had recently told me about encountering wild horses near Merritt in the 60s, and the idea of wild horses is very romantic, so I guess I wanted the creatures ...

Live entertainment from the Monkey Valley porch

Monday, September 7th, 2009

Moose in the meadow Last Saturday morning I was sitting on the porch having tea and brekkie, looking out over the creek now and then but mostly reading a good mystery novel. I heard some splashing sounds to my left, and looked up. Lo and behold, a young male moose emerged ...

Madame Moose strides again

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

On a run at Monkey Valley recently, a magical thing happened. I was running up the road, and saw a magnificent female moose in the meadow beside the road. She saw me too, we looked at each other for a little, and then she moved away up the hill. I felt awe ...

Black bear safe from exhaust fumes

Sunday, August 9th, 2009

Good news! I wrote previously about the trail expansion on the Twin Bridges trail and my concern that regular vehicle traffic would be permitted on my favourite running trail, disturbing a magical pocket of wilderness and the creatures who live there, including the black bear I spotted on my run ...