Comparison of Ungulate Pellets

I took a hike last week in a place used by three different species of ungulates. I didn't see any of them. So how did I know three species had been there? By their pellets, or scat, that they left behind.
I'm going to show you the photos and give you some clues. You see if you can figure out which three species left the following scat.

The first scat I examined closely looked just slightly larger than rabbit scat, but instead of being brown and totally round, it was black and slightly pointed at one end. The pellets were in a group, but rather scattered within the group.

What's your guess? If you said bighorn sheep, you are correct!

Scat Number Two:
I came across a place where the gravel had been cleared away. Adjacent it to it were two big piles of scat, along with a smaller pile and a wet area from urine in the cleared area. I surmised that this was a favorite ungulate hangout.

A close-up look at one of the piles of scat:

A close-up of the pellets, brownish-black, slightly dimpled, one end (or sometimes two) narrowed.

And your guess? If you said deer, you are correct! We have mule deer out here, a LOT of them. Deer scat is about the size of a raisin, although not quite as wrinkly. I'm not sure if I should admit this, but I have a fun prank that deals with deer scat. (If you're a long-time reader of this blog, you read about it here.) I've given talks about scat to school kids. I like to have samples of various scat with me (in Ziploc bags--in reality, handling scat with your bare hands is not the best idea and can lead to nasty diseases, so don't do what I'm doing.) Anyway, I show the kids the deer scat and ask them how they can figure out how old it is. After I hear their more reasonable guesses, I tell them that the best way to do it is to do a taste test. I pretend to take a pellet out of the bag, while palming a Raisinet instead. I pop the Raisinet in my mouth, bite down on it slowly, and make an appropriately theatrical expression. While the kids look on, faces frozen in horror, I declare the age of the deer scat.

It's an awesome prank.

I may have scarred some kids for life. Probably not. But they may never look at scat the same way again.

Okay, last ungulate scat of the day:

This scat is also black and in pellet form like the other two, but is noticeably larger. Here's a close-up:

Your guess? Elk is the correct answer. They are bigger animals, so it only makes sense that they leave behind bigger poo.

Although all these three ungulate scats look similar, it doesn't take too much detective work to tell them apart. And the more practice, the easier it gets.

Thanks for joining me in this little soiree into the leftover matters of life.

Desert Survival: How to Tell Direction with a Shadow Stick

 This winter we've been watching a lot of survival shows, mainly because Desert Boy is fascinated with them. (And in case you wanted to watch some, here they are in my order of preference: Man, Woman Wild; Out of the Wild: Venezuela; Dual Survival; Man vs. Wild; Survivorman.)

Desert Boy talks about survival all the time. So we talk about how to be safe. And although he really wants to practice his fire-making skills, we decided we'd start small. So we tried a survival skill to determine which direction is which. Now, out in the Great Basin, that's often not something that's hard to figure out, as most of the 300+ mountain ranges run north-south. But when we travel, we might need to know the direction.

The first step to finding your direction with a shadow stick is to insert a stick into the ground. Note: a straight stick is recommended, and some survival manuals recommend a 3-foot long stick. Sticks that long are dangerous around my kids, so we used one-foot long.

 After the stick is in the ground, mark the end of the shadow it casts with a stone or other object that won't be disturbed. (Note: this technique only works when it's sunny.) Then wait 10-15 minutes (or longer if you get distracted by hunting lunch, making a fire, building your shelter, etc.)

After you've waited a bit, check the shadow stick and mark the end of the shadow with another rock.


Draw a line between the two rocks. This is an east-west line; the second stone placed marks east. The line that intersects the line is true north-south (which differs a bit from magnetic north-south).

Simple! I did it again a few days later in a different location, and it still worked. I guess the earth hadn't changed its rotation.

This is a great, quick activity for kids and kids-at-heart. Stay tuned as we experiment with more survival techniques in the near future. And if you have ideas for ones we should try, please leave a comment!

Views from the Road

 As I was driving today, I noticed a distraction from the wide, open road. As I got closer, I saw that cows were on the move. A cowboy on a horse and another on a four-wheeler were behind a very long string of cows, stretching a couple of miles. The cows seemed quite content to move.

It was a beautiful day. Tomorrow the snow is supposed to come. If I have my druthers, it will snow up on the mountains (we'd sure like more!) and rain in the valleys. As we get closer to spring, that becomes a better possibility. We might be a little too far away from spring, though. Stay tuned for photos of what happens...

Desert Girl's Birthday

Desert Girl recently turned 3, which to her means that she is now a big girl. To me, that means it is time to be toilet trained! So diapers are out the window (so to speak) and Desert Girl is using the toilet like a big girl. This tactic worked with Desert Boy amazingly well, and is going well so far with Desert Girl. 

But back to the birthday. We decided to have two celebrations. One for kids in the local gym so they could run around and have fun, and a family gathering later in the day after my husband was done with work. 

I took a bunch of dress up clothes to the gym, and the kids had fun trying on different outfits.

 It was hard to get them to stand still for long!

We played some bean bag toss and the kids switched outfits and ran around (at least the younger ones. The bigger ones were doing something in the corner!)

 Then we tried the balloon race, with each kid squeezing a balloon between his or her knees.

 Desert Girl needed a little help.

 Next it was time for the piñata--one of my kids' favorites! My husband thinks it should be banned from our town, as many a kid has nearly got whacked--and a few have got whacked--by the pinata stick. Nevertheless, I don't think it's going away anytime soon.

 I brought some healthy food, which disappeared quickly, I think mainly because the kids liked eating with toothpicks.


Then came the blowing out candles part. Desert Girl seems to have a hard time aiming her breath.


Nevertheless, she eventually succeeded!

 In the evening she had some fun with one of her uncles.

 She was also ready to blow out more candles!

 She blew them out so fast I hardly had time for a photo!


It was a relaxing time with family, and Desert Boy even had us all playing an alphabet game.

 Desert Girl was delighted with a new princess skirt. Oh my, it is hard not to catch her enthusiasm!

 Brothers hanging out.

 There is such joy at a little kids' birthday party. It is so precious to witness. I try to take lots of photos, because I know that those teenage years aren't all that far away! Happy Birthday, Desert Girl!

Are You Ready for Valentine's Day?

Valentine's Day is right around the corner! This year, my husband and I are going to try something a little different. Instead of focusing just on one day, we're going to spread out the love. For the whole week before Valentine's, we're going to write a love note to each other every day. (I wanted to do it for two weeks, but I wasn't organized to start the beginning of February, so for this year, one week will be our goal.)

I like the idea of spending more time on each other. In today's world, it's so easy to get distracted by the Internet, TV, and little gadgets and forget that people are what make the world such a great place. It will be nice to put a little more emphasis on the romantic side and go back to those courting days (while still happily married!).

Another benefit I see in trying this is that Valentine's Day this year is in Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday (February 13). I usually give up sweets for Lent (it is not easy, but that's part of the point of it!), so I won't be eating any Valentine's chocolates on February 14. February 12--that's another story!

I bet some of you have some neat Valentine's traditions. I'd love to hear about them!