Category: Wildlife

Bison...At Home on the Range

7/17/2021

Bison are fairly common here. But they’re usually, willingly, in pens. I’ve heard that if a 1000 pound bison doesn’t really want to be enclosed…it’s difficult to argue.

Surprisingly, though, I’d never realized the difference between seeing a few of them in a pen, and seeing a herd of them in the wild. Besides the lack of fencing, the ground wasn’t littered with troughs—or barren because of over-grazing, They looked more peaceful, and unspoiled.

I imagine myself seeing a sight viewed centuries in the past.

Even the babies seemed more contented in the habitat.

But no matter how peaceful and serene everything appears...this is their home, and I'm a visitor. I wasn't invited by them, and I'm to take care. Or, as the sign says:

One spring, in a contained pasture, I did wake one up accidentally as I drove slowly along the road. It's best to let them sleep.

Photos taken near Pawhuska, OK at the Tallgrass Prairie Wildlife Preserve.

Fine: $225 to Feed the Prairie Dogs

4/3/2021

The sign told me that it is a $225 fine to feed the prairie dogs. And by comparing the activities of this village to a similar one, I'd say that people haven't been feeding them. But it's not the threat of the $225 fine that keeps the critters from being treated. It's the note that says people food isn't healthy for them. This helps keep visitors from being tempted to treat the little ones when no one is watching.

These animals do seem happier than the ones in the other village where I saw the scraps of carrots. More relaxed, and not watching for a treat.

It's unusual for me to find critters that will pose as long as I wish.

The sign also said the prairie dogs liked having their photos taken, so I have to believe that whoever made the sign knew about wildlife..

The Beauties and the Beasts

6/8/2019

I wanted to move to the country for a quiet life. I didn't expect a colorful life, and all the activity I would find around me.

Plans get disrupted by nature every year. Most usually, it's a frost that kills the blooms or a drought that kills plants. Or a critter that knows to pick the fruit the night before it gets ripe. But sometimes nature surprises me.

The mulberries were so sweet they didn't need sugar. Besides fruit from the trees overhead, I once was surprised to look up and see pelicans flying over. That's rare.

I admit, it's a bit unsettling to be on a walk and hear something skittering in the leaves at your feet. It's taken me a bit to accept the bad with the good. Sometimes the woods can be dangerous. I would say—the woods can be dangerous all the time. You have to be careful, and accept the risks.

This wild sow would have attacked me in a heartbeat if she'd thought her babies were threatened. I do my best never to have an encounter with a wild pig. I don't know that I would survive. This photo was taken with a trail cam which is safest.

The fruit tree is protected from the animals. And if you look at the deer on the right, she only has three legs.

Another critter I try not to get too near. I took this photo while on a walk. I wasn't expecting to see a bobcat, but we both went our separate ways.

I lived nearby for a long time before I moved to this location and discovered nature. They don't advertise their presence. Even after I first lived here, I had no idea that I had so many four-legged neighbors.

After a path was mowed through the woods, and I began to take daily walks, I learned that the animals like to walk on mowed paths almost as much as humans. Why wouldn't they?

Bison...At Home on the Range

Fine: $225 to Feed the Prairie Dogs

The Beauties and the Beasts

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