Our
Animal visitors at
Rocky Top
All Photos by R T Douse
This little gray fox has been a visitor every evening for quite awhile
now. The rock he is standing on is about twenty feet from the
front
door of our home. Richard has taken to putting out a small
handful
of Ann Margret's catfood as well as an occasional mouse or
gopher that Ann captures but refuses to eat. Of course we
bring
Ann
in every night so she won't end up like her mice or gophers.
Another visitor has been this raccoon which came to drink
at our garden pond. We haven't seen him since the fish died.
This photo was taken through our bedroom window one
evening.
One morning, when we were
camping in our 5th wheel trailer,
we happened to look over to the East line of our property and
saw this little bobcat who had just leaped over the rock wall we
had begun building. We saw him (or her) again a few days later
and watched while it walked past our trailer and down the drive.
We saw it stop and turn toward the tall green grass by the side of
the road. It leaped straight up, over, and down and came back
to the road with a mouse in its mouth. With a flick of its head,
it tossed it into the air and swallowed it in one gulp!
The very same day we saw the bobcat for the first time, within
minutes, this little girl hopped out from behind some buckbrush.
Since then, hardly a day goes by when we don't see deer.
Not all our "girls" have four legs!
This little girl just stopped by for a drink. She has a
nest somewhere close.
And, not all of our animal friends are furry. I spotted this cute
little guy on a rock that borders our patio. Since he was just a
baby, I put him in a paint bucket and took him to a far corner
of our land and let him go. We see about 4 or 5 every year.
If they are large, they don't get off so easily . . .
. . . like these two! Actually, if they hadn't taken up residence
by the edge of our patio, I would have let them be - but they
were just too close to home.
Here we have two harmless and really quite beneficial
garter snakes. This pair were also next to our patio.
Making babies, perhaps.
You don't often see Western Fence Lizards fighting.
These two were so angry with each other that they
completely ignored me while I was photographing them.
I hope you enjoy these pictures. I took all of them 
around
our home that we call "Rocky Top." If you enjoy them, then you're
probably the kind of person that appreciates the out of doors
and the wildlife one finds there.
You are also, quite probably the kind of person that would enjoy my new novel, "The Next - an omen."
No, it's not about witchcraft or that sort of thing. It is
an action / adventure story that shows what can happen when people,
even those with the best intentions, try to meddle with nature.
It is an excellent book for luring young people
away from TV and video games and getting them to long
for more time out of doors. It can be ordered from
Amazon.com and can be read in paperback or on Kindle.
Now then, here's a few more friends of mine! Also, I've started putting videos
on You Tube, so click on this link and enjoy!
The Blacktail Jackrabbit used to be common over much of the West.
However, many ranchers poison them or shoot them. This makes
no sense to me. They also poison or shoot the coyotes that help
keep their numbers under control. I guess some people just like killing.
Blacktail Jackrabbits are as much a symbol of the West as
cowboys and coyotes. Let's hope they remain so.
A lot of people would look at this picture and think this is a
Red Fox. They would be wrong. This is a Grey Fox and
the proof of the matter is that the tip of its tail is black. Yes,
I know, you can't see the tail in this picture. Just take my
word for it, okay?
Every Spring we enjoy watching wildlife babies. This little
Blacktail Deer fawn stayed around our property until its
spots were gone.
Some wild animals just like to pose. This is a mature
Blacktail buck who I sincerely hope evaded the hunters
this year. If so, I'll be seeing him again next year!