Wildlife

Nature’s Gifts

emyloom 1 Comment

I am thankful this today for the awesome beauty in nature. All around the world but especially for the beauty I see every morning when I wake.

In this season I have enjoyed the beautiful changing colors of the trees, gorgeous sunrises over Mt Si and a first dusting of snow on its highest peak.

Often in morning the elk are in my yard or I see them grazing in the fields along my four mile route to work. Several times I’ve seen them crossing in the middle of the Snoqualmie River.

It has been raining for days and on that same route I cross two bridges over the river. It is full and pushing the limits of its banks. To see it meandering through the tree lines banks brings a calm and peace to my heart.

The flowers are gone for the season but the birds still visit my patio. From my kitchen window I can see the Anna hummingbird drinking from the bright yellow blown glass feeder.

Last week a small sparrow splashed about in the deep red bird bath. He seemed so full of joy. I was amazed because it was quite chilly out and I know that was an ice cold bath but he didn’t seem to care.

I hung a suet cake for him only to see it ravenously consumed in a day by the regal deep blue Steller Jays with the prominent black crests. They are lovely but quite the naughty rascals.

A few weeks ago the black bear crossed the lawn looking for food in my trash. Sadly he found nothing here to fatten him up before his long winter nap.

Several times in the past few weeks the rain is interrupted by short sun breaks. When they arrive I am guaranteed to be blessed with a rainbow over the mountain.

I often have my camera ready and get photographs of these awesome events (the 4000+ pictures in my iphone are witness to this). However, when I am driving or when my phone is not around, I do something Josh told me once long ago when he was only five. He said to just blink my eyes and “Take a picture with my heart”

“For each new morning with its light, For rest and shelter of the night, For health and food, for love and friends, For everything Thy goodness sends.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Why Do the Elk Cross the Road?

emyloom 1 Comment

I have lived in the Upper Snoqualmie Valley for 22 years and we see the elk herd often in the fields around the community. I previously wrote a piece about them, “The Elk and Our Complicated Relationship.” (link below)

No matter how much of a pest they can be at times, I have never grown tired of seeing them. They are beautiful and amazing to see them in large numbers. The bulls can weigh between 600-800 pounds and cows weigh between 400-500.

Often in the evening, the large heard can be seen in the fields around Highway 202 between Snoqualmie and North Bend. There is a larger field on the north side of the road with a band of trees, and you can see them in the field then a few minutes later they will just disappear like ghosts into the tree line. Sometimes they can be seen on the south side of the road in a smaller field just grazing. I know they must cross the road many times both in the morning and in the evening, but I have never seen this event.

Once I drove by in the early evening, and they were on the south side of the road, I drove around and around hoping to see them cross but they seemed content grazing in the smaller field.

Last night as Chris and I were headed home they were all queued up at the edge of the road in the south field. We stopped but the cars behind us started honking, so we pulled into a gravel lot. The lot was made recently for safety, because Highway 202 has a very narrow shoulder, and it was dangerous when people pulled off to see the elk.

We got out of the car and walked closer, but keeping a safe distance. It was a process, a few elk would get close to the road and cars would honk, or wiz past and they’d recede a little. The elk at the back kept pushing forward and they looked like people do when they trying to get into a concert… pushing in and looking up ahead to see what is holding up the crowd. Finally a car stopped in each direction. It took them about a minute but the lead elk ventures into the road and they all follow.

It was quite comical when the final two cross the ditch, one stopped to inspect or eat something in the middle of the road and then the other stops there too to check out what is going on. They really seemed to not care that cars were lined up waiting on them. They were going to take their sweet time. Finally driver that had stopped first and had been waiting now for nearly 5 minutes, started moving forward and the elk jump out of the way.

I shared the video with some friends and one of the asked me, “Why are they crossing the road?” Ha! – Of course just to get to the field on the other side and because they can.

To learn more about the history of the elk in the Upper Snoqualmie Valley follow the link below. https://www.meadowbrookfarmpreserve.org/meadowbrook-elk-history.html

The Elk and Our Complicated Relationship

The Elk and Our Complicated Relationship

emyloom 4 Comments

I live in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains in a community that has a large herd of Rocky Mountain Elk in residence. According to the Upper Snoqualmie Valley Elk Management, who do an annual census, there are an estimated 450 elk in the greater Snoqualmie Valley area. In my area and around my house we see small herds up to about 30.

These beasts are like spirit animals; they are huge and yet they can walk under my open window early in morning and I hear nothing. Sometimes I will walk outside and they are all laying down under the trees taking an afternoon siesta and just as quickly as they appear they can vanish into the forest without a sound. They are beautiful, so large and majestic. No matter how often I see them, I am always in awe and can never get enough photographs. I just love them and love having them around. Although they are quiet they do not come and go without leaving an indication of their presence. Most evident is the leftovers and scraps from veracious appetite. They will strip the leaves off small trees, devour roses and ornamental bushes, and flowers. It is difficult to maintain traditional landscaping so I sought advise from the local nursery and purchased a variety of plants that they recommended. Plants that elk are not fond of, mostly herb-like plants or plants with strong bitter tastes.

So generally everything in my greater open yard is free for the taking. I have a lot of things they don’t like — stinky daisies, wild foxglove and bee balm, rhododendrons, and azaleas. Other things that they may like are planted at my own risk. A few years ago I planted a golden chain tree that was about 7′ tall and I thought they might eat the lower leaves, but no, they grabbed it by the top and broke it right in half then left it. They will try most things and if they don’t like it they just leave it on the ground and move on. Very frustrating.

So that’s it, there are no tender plants, no annual or perennial flowers in my yard; for those I have my patio. There I have hanging baskets, geraniums, shamrocks, coleus, Japanese maple, a dogwood and lots of flowering annuals. My patio was somewhat “guarded” by a collection of decorative, yet not sturdy, fence sections. Those sections were really no defense against a 600 pound elk determined to snack. Occasionally they would break-in and ravage my patio pulling the plants up by the roots and the ones they didn’t like they just dropped. Last summer after one such attack they broke four flower pots because as they pulled the plants, the pots lifted as well, when the plants pulled free the pots dropped and shattered.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is img_8772-1.jpg

Enter, my friend Rogelio, (see my post 11/14/20) this spring he constructed a sturdier permanent fence. I am thrilled with my new well-fortified fence. My lilies in the large pots that faithfully come back every year, (even though the elk would bite the heads off most of them before they bloom) are flourishing. My planters are full of colorful flowers… it is a patio paradise.

Then, this morning, I see a small group of elk wandering around the back of the house and I rush downstairs to make sure they have not entered my patio garden by way of the sidewalk next to the house. I open the back door and I want to scream! Two pots by the back door, one with zinnias and the other with several beautiful coleuses, are both knocked over and those big beasts have eaten the coleus down to a nub. I am furious.

This is the other other side of our relationship. I don’t want to say “hate” because that is a strong word I don’t use to describe my feelings towards anything… except maybe yogurt, but I am not liking these beautiful beasts much at that moment.

I shout at them, clap my hands, “It is time to move along guys – go away!” Several beasts, a few feet away, just move a few steps and look at me like I am no threat and true enough, I am not! So there you go. On my way back inside the house I notice they also decapitated the only lily growing in the bed out side of the patio.

Le sigh, I give up.