Never Thought I'd See This Out My Back Door!

You were gonna do what?

I am in heaven.  Horse heaven!  For the last two years, I have been driving up and down the mountain to visit my horse at a stable an hour away.  I did this every other day.  Originally I researched horse boarding up here in Arrowhead, but the only facilities were pipe corrals near mountain trails.  No cozy shelter, no arena. (I have only ridden in an arena--never been out on the trails.)  The mountain drive has gotten to me lately; so much so that I have questioned if my horse-owning days were over.  Perhaps I should find Jack a good home and just stay up on the mountain--writing, not riding.


So in a last ditch effort I started asking everyone I knew, "Do you know anyone who keeps horses up here?  Anyone one who has a small arena...who might take in a dependable boarder?"  I actually ended up with a list of six people to call.  Two said they didn't board but were encouraging, telling me to get in touch if I did find a place and we could trail ride.  A few didn't respond.  But finally, my dog groomer, Jeani, came through!  She hooked me up with a wonderful couple, Brenda and Jim, who have a horse and a mini-donkey--and a spot just right for Jack year-round.

Now yer talkin'!

His new home is a mere 5 minute drive from my back door.  I can zip over any time I want.  He has a nice enclosure, a good size turn-out, and a very nice arena for lunging and light riding.  Best of all, he has two new buddies, Guiness and Bootie (a mini-donkey)                   

Bootie and Guiness in the arena



Jack exploring the arena.



Home Sweet Home

Bootie and Guiness (in his fly mask)

I am thrilled at the prospect of learning to trail ride.  Jack and I are gonna give it a try this a week with Brenda's help and expertise.  Neither Jack nor I have much experience, but we're both quick  and eager learners. 

So I guess I have found Jack a good home after all! Only one that keeps us together and ready for new adventures.  Happy Trails to You!

What the heck is a trail?

Raven Update: They've Grown and Flown and Left the Nest

Adult with youngster learning to fly

Well, just as predicted, the last week of June the ravens left their nest and took their first solo flights.  I heard the commotion in the evening and discovered one adult with a youngster on the roof a few houses over.  This one kept flying about and landing back on the roof.

However, the second babe had apparently taken off from its nest and flown across the street landing on the bottom deck of my next door neighbor's house. I watched as it tried and tried to fly upward, but it only got halfway.  Meanwhile the two adult were squawking and flying about.

Fledgling stuck on my neighbor's deck



Lower left, young raven on deck.  Upper roof--adult and fledgling.

Adult flying frantically over the deck where fledgling sits below

After watching it try to fly through the rails several times, I feared it might injure its wings.  So I called my neighbor.
                                      

First she tried to shoo it off to the side where there was an opening, but it wouldn't budge.  So she gently lifted it up and set it on the railing.  It wouldn't fly.  It just sat there forever!

Soon it was getting dark.  The other ravens--two adults and one fledgling-- had flown away to the trees across the street.  This one just sat there.

My sweet neighbor Pat, who helped the raven onto the railing, encourages it to fly to its family.

I kept checking on it by flashlight all night, and there it was, in the same spot, even at midnight.

The next morning I woke up at 6AM and hurried to the deck.  The fledgling was gone.  I looked everywhere on the ground underneath and prayed nothing had gotten it in the night.  When I looked into the nest across the street, I saw one raven--perhaps one of the fledglings?  Then I saw two others flying about, one of which kept flying over to the tree across the street.  I grabbed my binoculars and there I saw--the other fledgling perched on a limb just as it was on the deck railing the night before.
                            
With I relief I counted one, two, three, four.  Two adults, two fledglings.  They were all there. 

The next morning, there was no sign of ravens at all.  The nest was empty.  I could hear cawing in the distance from a clump of trees--perhaps their new spot as they learned to perfect their flying and find food.  But I have not seen the four since.  Last year a little raven family had entertained us all July, using the roof across the street as their perching place.  But not this year.  They've chosen another spot. 

Now and then I see one or two ravens soaring by.  They stop in a neighboring tree for a bit and then move on.  I assume it is the adults who are here year round.     

                                

Such an abrupt departure for the youngsters.  I had hoped to watch them for a few more weeks. But what a thrill it's been these past few months! 

Yesterday I noticed that the neighbor who allowed the ravens to build their nest on his roof had taken the nest down.  No longer needed.  Not just empty nest now, but no nest at all.  Until next year....

                                

Being a Wildlife Care Provider at Wildhaven Ranch

Bayley Bear

Looking out my back door in the past five months, I've seen more than ravens and songbirds.  Since I began my training as a Wildlife Care Provider at Wildhaven Ranch in the San Bernardino Mountains, I have cared for mule deer, black bears, bobcat, and birds of prey--and what an amazing experience it has been.  The animals here cannot be released into the wild for various reasons and so, here at Wildhaven, we strive to make their lives as stimulating and satisfying as possible.

Created in 1994 and operated by the San Bernardino Mountains Wildlife Society, Wildhaven is a not-for-profit organization consisting of a wildlife sanctuary for endangered and indigenous wild animals, as well as an education and visitation center--all staffed by well-trained, dedicated volunteers. 

Being that I have had past experience working with horses, the Executive Director felt confident that I could train as WCP for the deer and assist the bearhandlers with Bayley.  After attending an orientation class, I went through an extensive training period of shadowing an experienced volunteer, then being observed, and finally being approved to work on my own--though not in all cases.  I still work with others when it comes to the bears.

As a Wildlife Care Provider, besides feeding the animals and cleaning their exhibits, I get to try out different enrichment ideas that provide stimulation and a change of pace.  For example, Bayley, my favorite black bear (please don't tell the other three!) loves water play.  I fill her tub through the chain link fence being careful not to let her get the hose itself.  Sometimes she bats at the spray of water as it fills the tub or sticks her face in its path.  Sometimes she lets me fill it up completely before she settles down into the nice cool, refreshing bath.  Of course there are the days that she flips the whole thing and runs off in glee! 

                            

Last week we added a nice big piece of watermelon to her usual meal.  Unlike the other bears who ate theirs first, she set hers aside.  I wondered why until, after finishing her meal, she picked up the watermelon in her mouth, climbed the ramp up to her platform in the trees, and settled down to enjoy it--for dessert!

Bayley and her watermelon

Our precious mule deer buck named Buckwheat is a favorite at Wildhaven.  Having been neutered (long before he came to us), he cannot grow full antlers each season.  Instead he has one lovely velvet antler that makes him look like a lop-sided unicorn! We were worried about his weight this winter, but after talking with mule deer keepers at local zoos, as well as with veterinarians , we learned that bucks often lose weight in the winter (after rutting season) and gain it back in the spring.  To fatten him up everyone scoured the mountainside for an endless supply of acorns, and when that ran dry, we brought in peanuts per our vet's recommendation.  Buckwheat was most appreciative--and he has filled out beautifully.

Buckwheat

                                       

Wolfie

One of my proudest attempts at enrichment involved creating a nest for our red-tailed hawk Wolfie, named after Mozart.  I began with a wreath frame, then gathered and attached a few plants and weeds.                      

                            

 We placed this in one of Wolfie's perching areas.  After looking at it from afar, he finally hopped onto the nest and examined it thoroughly.  He seemed to approve, but the real test followed.

 On the ground I scattered evergreen sprigs, pine needles, strips of soft cloth, and small twigs--so Wolfie could add to his new nest himself.  Over the next few days, I checked the nest and to my delight, there were a few twigs and strips of cloth placed in the nest!  In addition, the scattered items had been rearranged on the ground to suit Wolfie.  Clearly he had been busy.

How lucky I am be able to experience this unique interaction with wildlife.  Little did I know when I moved to Lake Arrowhead how amazingly my life would be enriched.

Getting Stronger Every Day!

I have yet to get a good shot of the two wide open beaks in the nest.  I can see them with my binoculars, but my feeble camera lens can't quite zoom in clearly.  Their large heads wobble on skinny necks and their beaks open so wide, I fear they will turn inside out.  And such noise!  I can hear their squawks across the street.  They are getting bigger and stronger every day. 

Mama or Papa Raven (tail to the right) feeding one of two baby ravens.

This week I witnessed once again the daily struggle to survive and the precariousness of life.  I discovered one of my favorite birds, a Northern Flicker, hopping on the ground, perhaps with an injured wing, for it was unable to fly.  My husband put down food and covered it with a towel, but it hopped away and over a wall shortly after and was soon out of sight. I wondered if I should have made an effort to capture it and take it to the vet, but it was alert and clear eyed, and I hoped the injury was minor.  Perhaps it would find shelter until it was able to fly again.  But I have to admit, for a fleeting moment I thought, "Or it might end up being food for the baby ravens." 

Northern Flickers on my deck.

The next day my heart sank as I watched both ravens eat the remains of a Northern Flicker and then fly to the nest to feed their babes.   

Raven and Northern Flicker remains on the deck.

When the ravens were finished feeding and the babes were finally silent, both ravens took flight.  They began together, but soon separated, flying in different directions, soaring, twisting, dipping and rising across the lake and back.  I've written before about the pure joy of flying that is evident when you witness this sight. But to see this in the midst of childrearing made me laugh.  How many of us would have loved to take flight after finally getting the kids down for the night.  Instead we plop in front of the TV or collapse in bed.  Ravens get to leave the kids in the nest and soar! 

                                  

 

In the midst of this ecstacy-- for both them and me--both ravens began frantically croaking, and one suddenly took off after something in the distance. A hawk.  It was quite a distance away, yet they were adamant about keeping it just that...far away. 

                                 

 After following it some distance, and assured that it was not heading anywhere near their nest, the raven returned to its mate and the two sat awhile on the lower deck making soft clucking sounds.  Sometime later one returned to the nest.  

I felt that evening like I had experienced every aspect of life.  The sweet innocence of new life, the heartbreak of death, the struggle to provide, the fear of impending danger, and in the midst of it all, the unfettered joy of living.  What a gift. 

Raven Update: Two Babes in the Nest!

Two brownish orange featherless babes, mouths open and squawking.

After 3-4 weeks of seeing Mama raven sitting in the nest

and Papa raven ever close by...

I began to see activity in the nest.  Mama's tail was sticking out with her head leaning back into the nest, clearly tending to something.  I also caught both ravens at the same time sitting on the edge of the nest, tails out, leaning in, apparently feeding their newborns. 

But it wasn't until yesterday that I saw movement when Mama left the nest. So I hurried down to ground level just in time to hear the commotion as Mama returned. I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of two tiny featherless critters, squeaking and squawking, as Mama turned, gave me a look, and then hopped into the nest.

                          

                      

Apparently they will stay in the nest for 5-6 weeks, brooded by Mama and fed by both Mama and Papa. Both parents have appeared at my feeders outside my kitchen window.  Hope they're looking for the seeds and nuts and not the birds and chipmunks!

                                    

As for the youngsters...I should see them flying about by the end of June.  Stay tuned!

Happy Mother's Day

In honor of Mother's Day, I'd like to re-post a blog I did last year called Mom's Trees. 

Happy Mother's Day Mom...I miss you.

The summer that my mom died in 2005, my sister and dad and I took a drive to Ouaquaga, New York to see my mom's childhood home.  Across the street from the house on what was their land were two lovely trees in front of a vineyard.  Of the many photos I took that day, this one ended up as the desktop photo on my laptop computer.  Of course each time I turned on my computer, I thought of my mom, and so these trees became for me, "Mom's Trees."                                     

Early this summer--my first summer in our new home here in Lake Arrowhead--I was sitting at my desk in front of my open laptop looking out the window, and this is what I saw in my yard below: Two trees identical to those in the photo on my computer!  The trunks of each tree branch similarly to Mom's trees.  The one on the left has two trunks that each branch in a Y.  The one on the right has a thin trunk and a thicker trunk. 

I hadn't noticed them before because when we moved here, they were leafless, and then in spring, the tree on the left was covered in pink blossoms. Now that the blossoms were gone and both trees had filled out, the similarity was quite amazing.  I sat for a few moments glancing first at the laptop photo and then back out the window until I ran to get my husband and then my camera. (If you click on the pictures to enlarge them you can see what I mean.)             

                     

So now each day, as I sit and write and look out my back door, I see Mom's Trees, and they make me feel, more and more, like I'm home.

Nature Red in Tooth and Claw...and Beak

Oh my.  As I was watching two cute, tiny little chipmunks on my deck, it dawned on me--that's what my raving ravens were eating on top of my neighbor's barbecue.  Not a mouse or a rat, but an adorable chipmunk.  Oh my.  But then I had to remind myself that while chipmunks are the prey of many mammals and birds, they are also predators themselves, often raiding a nest of bird's eggs or nestlings. Oh my. 

Raven Update: I hope my neighbor doesn't see this!

(If you haven't read the previous entry: My Raving Ravens are Back, read that first as this is a follow-up to that one.)

I returned from a 2 week trip to find the female raven in her nest, while the male is always very close by.  There must be eggs as she stays there all the time now.

She is stretched out along the back of the nest.





He sits in one of several trees beside the house.
(Her nest is in the right corner of the photo.)



Or he perches on a telephone pole beside the nest house. 

 I wondered if she ever left the nest at all and how he fed her. Then this afternoon about 3PM I saw two ravens on the neighbor's deck, or should I say on his barbecue, eating what I think is a mouse or rat.  I looked into the nest to find it empty. So it was them.                                                     

 

He let her eat first.

            


Then when she flew back to the nest, he finished the leftovers.

                     Hope he gets those last morsels on the barbecue top! Yuck!

(Still on raven watch. To be continued....)