WILD KINGDOM

We are lucky to live where we do.  It was pretty neat to go our morning walk today and see fresh racoon tracks, bobcat tracks, mountain lion tracks, wolf tracks, and deer tracks all within an hour.  Then have a bald eagle fly over our car on the way out the driveway, then have to hit the brakes to avoid a couple of rooster pheasants, and a rough legged hawk watching this all from it's perch on the powerline pole in the lane.  (Had to do our weekly town sortie for supplies and a latte.)  Have not seen the elk though in a week.  People are sighting them just to the north of us a couple of miles in the hayfields there.  They are at a lower altitude there than we are and with more houses around.  I think the fact that we are seeing wolf tracks and mountain lion tracks around here has something to do with that. 

We are busy getting ready for Christmas.  Also went skiing on Sunday and it was a pretty good day although pretty cold.  Was 4 below zero when we went through Sula according to Ike and Brenda who we skied with.  Just kind of a social ski day so we did not over work ourselves.  Hardly anyone on the mountain so there were no lift lines and you could really let the skis fly down some of the runs.  I love to make big GS turns going as fast as I can go and still feel in control.  Hope we get more powder for skiing on Thursday. 

Puppy is doing well and growing all the time.  I think he is going to be bigger than we hoped he would be.  He is going with us to town now.  Still a little concerned when we let him stay in the car when we go shopping though.  So far he has not chewed the leather seats or anything up.