Monday Miscellany

     I mentioned the fire near Ft. Collins, CO previously. It is called the "High Park fire."  It was 2 acres on Sat. am, 8000 acres on Sun., and was at 20,000 acres and raging as of this morning.  I just checked as of 11am it is at 37,000 acres and very aggressive.  More than 100 homes have been damaged or destroyed, and there has been one fatality.  The Denver area is windy, smoky, and smells like a campfire.  It is hard to take if you are outside for very long.
   
     Previously, when discussing vegan athletes, I mentioned undefeated professional boxer Timothy Bradley.  Yesterday he defeated Manny Pacquaio by judges' decision to obtain the Welterweight Title.  They are fighting again in November so maybe there will be a more clear-cut boxing victory, but it is still a clear victory for vegan athletics.

     I give up on feeding the birds.  At breakfast an elk had knocked down the bird feeder and was trying to paw it into submission.  When we went out to try and get a picture, we noticed 2 more.....one eating our crab apple tree, and one eating our neighbor's tree. These elk didn't linger once we went out, so the pictures we took aren't worth sharing...they just showed the hind quarters of the departing trio.
     Later I saw 3 buck deer eating the remains of the birdseed on the ground.  On my hike I encountered a small 10" rattlesnake sunning itself in the trail.
     This evening a beautiful wayfaring bull elk stopped over by our patio.  With us there watching he chose to take a siesta.  We are so blessed to have such amazing guests.

"Without habitat, there is no wildlife.  It is that simple."----Wildlife Habitat Canada

Namaste, friend.  Visit again soon.

"Any glimpse into the life of an animal quickens our own and makes it so much the larger and better in every way." ---John Muir