Sunday, June 20, 2010

Counting critters {and a day-trip re-cap}

{Yes, Mother, that is my hand holding a horned toad.}
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My husband {Doug} and I take a lot of weekend road trips. Sometimes these trips include camping for the weekend, and other times we'll take a little day trip. We always look for wildlife along the way, and our drive back home always includes a re-cap of the animals we spotted on that trip. Our typical list usually includes a cottontail or jack-rabbit, lizards, a ground squirrel, tarantulas, and on occasion deer, elk or javelina. One time we actually saw a brown bear in the road! Now mind you, it's mostly common for us to maybe see ONE animal in an entire weekend...if we're lucky.
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Last Sunday we packed a picnic lunch and headed to Mt. Ord (it's the mountain in the above photo with the radio towers on top...back right portion of the photo) - a 1-hour and 15-minute drive from our home. During our 5-hour trek away from home, we actually saw three different types of animals! And even better, I got pictures of each of them.

These two white-tail deer were on the side of the road and I actually spotted them before Doug did (not that there's a competition thing going on here, but he just has a keen eye for spotting animals and I rarely get to see them first)! The really cool thing is that we stopped the truck and I took several pictures before these two beauties sauntered off into the woods.
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We parked the truck and decided to hike for a while and on our trail Doug spotted this horned toad along the way. Tricky to spot (I told you he has a keen eye!) but fairly easy to capture and photograph - as evidenced by the first photo of this post. (Can you spot the toad in the photo above?)

And! We spotted two bright yellow birds (I thought they were wild parakeets but Doug disagreed) that had the sweetest song and fluttered around in the trees while we ate lunch.


It was such a beautiful day, and a really fun trip! I'm thinking of making a "Critter Journal" for us to keep to document all the wild animals we see along the way...
Yes. I'll add that to my list...

We love living in Arizona.

17 comments:

scrappyjacky said...

A 'Critter Journal' sounds a great idea....you must have a great selection of photos and stories to go in it.
Not that holding a frog is my idea of fun,I'm afraid...though I s'pose I did hold a baby alligator once!

Cheryl said...

Wow amazing I love animals but sorry not that keen on toads. We had one last summer just outside our front door and you should of heard me scream!.

Maria Ontiveros said...

Love the idea of a critter journal.
Rinda

Amy said...

Great idea Deb - I could make one of those too - plenty around here!

Sian said...

Great idea! Kind of like your beach album, maybe? That first photo would start it off very nicely indeed.

traci said...

seeing wildlife just adds to that special touch to nature. i am always so excited when i see something at the cabin.

Stephanie @ La Dolce Vita said...

I have to say, it does seem like there is something interesting around every corner! I bet you'd make a really adorable critter journal! Have a great week!

Mom said...

I am so proud of you! Holding a horned toad! I, too, have held a baby alligator once but that was quite enough! Beautiful shots of your gorgeous state--sounds like you had another terrific weekend. xo

Catherine said...

Oh I luv that you held a toad. I actually held a little red poisonous (not sure I spelled that right) frog in Panama.
Great photo : )
Catherine

M.L. @ The House of Whimsy said...

Hi Deb,
Thanks for taking us along on another field trip. How fun that you both enjoy the outdoors so much!!!
Wow! That little canvas book you made for your sister was to die for!!! I looked over each page for a couple of minutes...SO CUTE!
Your birdcage makeover was also adorable! Way to go!
Thank you for your kind words when my mom passed away. They meant a lot.
Mary Lou

Becky said...

What a great idea to create a 'Critter Journal'. Lovely to see the different animals you find in Arizona as compared with the UK.

Unknown said...

Cool pics! I never looked at them on your computer and I wish I would have now!

humel said...

I actually thought 'aww, cute!' when I saw the horned toad - just me then?! Love the sound of your Critter Journal xx

Ruth said...

A Critter Journal is a must ... but maybe don;t include anything about tarantulas!

Jana said...

You hit the jackpot on that trip. A critter journal would be so cool. You just have to make one. And share it here with us.

janae @ jelly roll said...

I can't believe you got that pic of the horned toad on your hand!! So cool. BTW, I saw a lizard, cotton tails, horses and cows just on my way to work one morning this week. :)

Kristi Jean said...

I used to see horned toads all over the place when I was a kid...I rarely saw them before I moved! I'm so glad you had to opportunity to see one!

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