Climbing the Gravel Pile

It doesn't take much to entertain Desert Boy. A pile of gravel will do the trick. 

The pile looked easy enough to climb, but soon Desert Boy found he had to crawl to get up it.

He kept going and going, until he reached the top.

And then he ran down!

But there was a slight problem.

He got rocks in his boot. He kicked off his boot.

And emptied it out. 

Then it was time to take off the other boot.

Taking off the boots isn't hard, but putting them back on can be a little tricky.

So Desert Boy figured out something else to do with his boots...

Put gravel IN the boots. 

It might not be practical, but at least it's fun!

Breeding Bird Surveys

I've started doing some breeding bird surveys on the ranch. It's always fun to see what's out there. I heard and saw quite a few red-winged blackbirds. They like to get together in big flocks at times and create quite a racket.

Even noisier are the yellow-headed blackbirds. They love to hang out on the bulrushes, make their noisy calls, and then chase each other around.

The female yellow-headed blackbird has some color to her but is not nearly as showy as the male.

This rock dove (pigeon) was on the road and didn't seem to mind my presence. When I took a closer look at the photo, I noticed it had bands around both of his feet. Who is studying rock doves and why?

In some willows next to a small pond on the ranch I saw a flash of yellow and discovered a pair of yellow warblers hanging out. They are small but colorful.

I'm usually surprised by all the diversity on the ranch--at first sight it might seem like there's just cows, horses, and ravens, but with a little more looking, it ends up quite interesting.

Yellow-bellied Marmot

We saw this lump lying on the road the other day. Sort of looks like road kill, doesn't it? 

But it twitched, and we knew it was alive.

And then it lifted its head and revealed itself as a harbor seal. Nope, not quite, but in the fuzzy photo it sort of looks like a seal that's hauled itself out on an iceberg.

This little guy is a yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris), one of the laziest animals in the world.

You see, although the marmot might look busy digging out the road and eating nice green vegetation, it will soon disappear from sight. That's because it goes into its burrow and hibernates for up to 9 months of the year. 

What a life!

Desert Destination: Down into a Deep, Dark Cave

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to meet up with some other cavers and go to a deep pit in Nevada. It's been a few months since I've been on rope, so I was excited to have a chance to go into a cave that was reportedly 160 feet deep.

 

We hiked up into the pinyon-juniper forest, and then the cave just suddenly appeared. There wasn't a big cliff with a gaping hole. Instead we found a small limestone outcrop with a gaping hole, but it wouldn't have been visible to anyone unless they happened to walk by it. I can only imagine the reactions of the first person who found it--and the first person who entered it, not knowing if he had enough rope to reach the bottom.

We had some clue how deep the cave was, and we brought two ropes for safety sake.

We also did some rescue practice before we went into the cave so if someone needed to be pulled out of the pit, each person would know how to do it. It's always good to practice these things before you need to use them.

On the way down we wanted to check out a lead that went behind these formations. It looked intriguing, but unfortunately didn't go too far.

There was an interesting moth hanging out there.

And part of a jawbone of a small rodent next to some rodent scat.

Bill rappelled down to join me and take a look around. Then Tom came, and then we went down even further into the cave.

I stopped to take a look at this lizard, which I thought was dead. But Bill later saw it twitch and considered doing the great lizard rescue. 

I rappelled down to the bottom--well almost to the bottom. I ran out of rope, and it was 200 feet long. Fortunately, the rope ran out on a steep slope that I could walk on. So the cave is definitely deeper than the 160 feet we had been told about--and deeper than 200 feet!

At the bottom were some large formations in a room that was about 60 feet in circumference and 60 feet high. There was one small passage off to the side, but it didn't go too far.

There was a lot of popcorn and what sort of looked like aragonite.

And a poor snake had fallen into the cave and decayed there.

In a little side passage we found a tiny cave shield, only about six inches across.

Here's Tom, who was happy to make it to the bottom. He didn't have such a big grin when he first got out of the cave.

Here's Tom coming up the last section. He had worked up quite a sweat. It's not so easy hauling your own weight up 200 feet of rope, especially when you only move about a foot or so at a time.

He's slowly making progress, escaping from the deep void and into the fresh air.

Go, Tom, go. He manages to pull himself up the last bit.

And then he steps off to the side and can get off rope and relax.

Although it's always thrilling to go into a cave, especially one that's deep, and especially into one you haven't been into before, it's really nice to get back to sunlight--or clouds--again. 

Hiking with a Friend

Yesterday we went for a hike with Charlie and his mom. We found a nice trail that started with some bridges and went into the trees. Desert Boy and Charlie thought it was neat.

They had a great time throwing rocks into a tributary. And they had decent aim. (Meaning neither Charlie's mom nor I got beaned.)

The trail crew was working on the trail and they paused to let us pass. 

When we got up to a meadow, Desert Boy thought it was time for a snack. Charlie agreed. They quickly plopped down and awaited food and drink.

Ah, the look of contentment. Neither wanted their own snacks, but the other's was great. 

Charlie also had a good time feeding Desert Boy.

Then it was time to hike again, and they even held hands for awhile. 

Don't leave. 

Don't puke. 

I know, this all seems so gushy and gooey.

But after all the getting along, it was time to wrestle. Desert Boy didn't quite know what to think when Charlie took him down. And a second time. And a third time. But then he figured it out.

Tackle! He wanted to make Charlie know he wasn't a wuss, I guess.

And then they worked on some more takedowns. Fortunately they agreed to stop wrestling before either was crying or hurt.

They were distracted with some obstacles, like branches to climb over and under.

And then it was back to throwing stuff in the creek--pinecones this time.

The moms enjoyed the beautiful display of wildflowers. The little guys didn't seem to care too much about the wildflowers, but they loved the dirt, and some of the insects, the contrail in the sky, the birds singing, and of course the water that they had to keep revisiting and trying to jump in.

It was lots of fun hiking with a friend!