Brrrrrrr!!!!

Today was freezing and windy...we didn't go out until 11, and then we only stayed until 4:30, which was late enough in itself. My tower has the great placement of facing South (sunny all day), but today the wind was blowing straight in the entire day. We had originally thought that maybe 3 dogs would come up..and we were surprised to see 10 in all, including 30, who we haven't seen in over a week. What a day to decide to come up! Aside from the pds, there were the gs who were very upset at their shutdown of free lunch, and kept coming up to the closed traps to try and get some food...in one case (4gs--not shocking) the gs tried to climb into the closed trap. What a pig..

Prairie Dogs are Sneaky

Today started with the sighting of a Northern Goshawk, which is a larger bird of prey that has a distinct slash of white above its' eye. So many birds out here!

Getting on to the entrees... I mean...the animals we're studying. Today was the first day that we didn't set traps around W2, and so, of course, we saw the unmarked dog W2un. We haven't seen it for days, but as soon as the traps weren't set, it made it's appearance. Figures. Wilbur walked out to remedy the situation, and on his way back, discovered that he had caught yet another gs, large, and unmarked (yay!). These days, it's becoming harder to catch unmarked gs at his tower, as they are finding the treats in the traps oh-so-yummy. While Wilbur awaited for W2un's re-emergence, John and I marked the gs number 8, and I found that I am slowly getting better at putting in ear tags, always a good thing, as they need to last more than one season, and it's annoying when they get ripped out (usually because it takes most of the ear with it). 8 was actually a good boy during the marking process, and his marker turned out nice to prove it.

Meanwhile, back at the top of the hill, Wilbur was learning the hard way that pd's are sneaky, and they enjoy to frustrate their observers. W2un had appeared a few times, but only in the emergence of a head over the burrow mound. We were starting to give up hope, when 2 sauntered by the traps (2 is a big fat pig when it comes to oats, and especially the oats with molasses bait we're using this year) and W2un just couldn't take it. She (I say she because of the way she reacted to 2) came out, and was unable to resist the lure of the traps. We got her, and it turned out I was right; it was a female...RR2. During his agonizingly long wait, Wilbur also saw H0, another female, a dog that was already marked because she was a yearling, and had been marked in the fall. All together, not a bad day.

Luck 'O' The Irish...and not much else

Today was a blah day as far as gs and pds go. Saw absolutely nothing on that front. Had a short period of excitement when Wilbur caught a gs at his tower, and was able to get down to mark it....only to find it had escaped before we got to it...soooo back to the tower and staring at cloud formations.

Part way through the day I did spot a Peregrine Falcon, always interesting, but it didn't seem to be hunting, just out enjoying the day, so it only slightly distracted me. Aside from the falcon, there was a HUGE herd of elk, but as they were approximately a mile away, they held little excitement; I was looking forward to some fights or chases...something. My wishes were not answered, but at least the day was not too long..

There actually was one point of extreme interest, and that's that Erica (Tall Girl) is coming back to Walden in May!! Woo hoo!

Ravens are in Charge

Today started with Wilbur catching 10gs, which let me see how nice his marker turned out..which is always good. Soon after, I was somewhat bored, and lazily watched a Raven chase a much swifter Prairie Falcon out of the coveted 'bird tree' (it's the only really good perching tree for miles, and it's conveniently located over a pd colony for the raptors) three times. The Raven was either as bored as I was, or just being a pest..I vote pest. Shortly after the avian dispute, Wilbur caught an unmarked gs at his tower, and I noted that they seemed to be viewing the traps as free lunch..they get to eat yummy molasses oats, we might take them to a car here and there, but they'd always get released after a short stay in jail, and then be free to repeat their indescritions with the several other traps spread around. They might not be as stupid as originally thought...
We marked the unmarked guy, turning him into 6gs, the event being completely without comment, which is always a relief, and we went home soon after she and I were done.

Kids Should Know About pd's

Today we went with John to Walden's high school to listen to his talk about prairie dogs. Most of the kids here come from rancher families, who generally greatly dislike pd's, although sometimes it just seems they dislike them on principle. Pd's have the bad rap of breaking horses and cows legs when they step into their burrows, which would then mean that the rancher would have to kill the animal. In reality, there have been no documented cases of such incidences occurring, but ranchers sometimes just need an excuse to shoot the dogs; never mind that most of them are threatened, or even endangered.
The talk started out with much the same response, but by the end, John seemed to be having somewhat of an impact. My personal favorite part of the discussion was the effects of polyandry, which is when a female mates with more than one male. In prairie dogs, that accounts for the female having a larger litter size, thus increasing the likelihood of her genes being passed along. Very interesting.
After the talk was finished, we headed out to the field and a long day. Amy was in a car at the barn, and I headed resolutely up to my tower. It was especially foggy, and it didn't lift until past noon, which is an odd occurrence in itself. The day was a long one..I stared irritatedly at OKun for a lot of the day, as it kept poking its head up and down. My spread traps seemed to be having little affect, may have to go to a surround soon..did manage to catch two birds; one male and one female horned lark, which is always fun...

Ground Squirrels Imitate Turtles!

I caught my second gs today, and went about marking him with Amy's help. The marking today didn't go off as smoothly as the process yesterday, minus of course a loose gs..This particular gs didn't want to stick his head out of the end of the bag, he seemed to find the interior much more to his liking. We tried to encourage him; we gripped him behind the mandible and then by the shoulders. He responded to our prodding by sticking his head out...and then sucking his head into his neck rolls like a turtle, making his ears disappear. We ended up pulling him from the bag, and while he twisted and squirmed, I got his ear tags in, and we got him marked..number 10. What a pain!

Ground Squirrels Move Faster than I Thought

I forgot today was Saturday, until I was reminded...which is always an interesting sign that I'm starting to lose track of the days, and so early into the season.. Anyhow, today was Wilbur's day off, and so I spent a fair amount of time looking up the hill to see what was going on. I was rewarded with a sighting of another dog with 2, and since he wasn't up in arms over it's arrival, I tend to think it was a girl. 2 has a soft spot for girls..
The highlight of today was that I caught a gs, and today could do something about it, since I'd come prepared..John let me go ahead and see if I could mark it by myself, and it soon became very apparent that I couldn't. I was fine with the initial process of obtaining his weight; which is of course the easy part. I took a bag designed for weighing gs, put the end around the trap, and prodded him into it. I had weighed the bag alone (150 grams), and once he was in it, weighed it again (460 grams), which gave me his poundage, or gramage if we're being proper (310! What a porker!). It was only after that ritual that things went awry. Within 2.5 seconds of me opening the bag, I had a loose gs in the car. Fortunately for me, he seemed as dismayed by the situation as I did, and attempted to blend into the upholstery. I simply reached over, grabbed him (he alarm squeaked, I can't say called, because it was so much higher pitched than normal), and replaced him into the trap. I then called John, and somewhat shamefacedly told him that I couldn't handle a 310 gram squirrel; although in my defense, they wiggle like crazy when you do have a hold of them, and I didn't want to suffocate him in a choke hold. John hopped in to help, and in no time, had the squirrel, soon to be number four, in a immobilizing hold, and I gave him his headgear, in the form of ear tags, numbers 1 and 2. These tags are like in the pd's, they are for identification after the dye wears off. John then stretched him out, he struggled for a few seconds, and then gave up. I painted him with nyanzol dye, which makes a nice black marker, and he was a good boy during the rest of the marking process. I think he might be stud of the year....

Singing Around the Campfire

This morning was absolutely gorgeous, and I was busy right away. I saw 2 at 9:30, had to set traps for a new dog shortly after sighting him, and he was so unconcerned he didn't even go down, but watched me from a burrow mound. What a blob. Around noon, I saw the first gs of the season, and made a bet with the crew about how fast we would catch him...no one even came close; he was in the trap within the hour. I didn't bring my marking supplies, but was not concerned when we released him, as I know that he'll be back in the trap tomorrow.

Back on the prairie dog front, no one was going in traps. 30 was a tease the entire day, and the only consolation prize I could obtain from OK was a head sticking out ever so often. At the end of the day, I was reminded that another species other than gs enjoy entering the traps, those being horned larks. The one I'm holding in the picture, aside from looking peeved, is a gorgeous male, who made absolutely no attempt to peck me as I gently pulled him out the trap (contrary to Amy's belief of them being vicious...I mean, look at the size of those beaks!!!)..

After dinner, we headed over to K. Delynne's place, and quickly decided that attending a bonfire was in order. We hopped in a few cars, and drove over to this absolutely beautiful log house. It belonged to someone who had designed it, and was now building it. Hard to describe, but hand carved stairs, rafters from rough hewn trees, sculptures carved into the walls...amazing. After a tour of the house, we all went outside, and sat around the fire on large stumps. The sky was clear, and every star imaginable was visible, including the milky way itself. K. Delynne had brought her guitar, and she set about teaching us songs that we than sang around the fire. An unforgettable evening.

Seven Days and Counting...

Today was day seven for being in the field, the time has been flying! We started the day off with breakfast at Moose Creek, always a good choice, and then went out into the cold and snowy weather. Walden has been surprisingly nice to us so far as weather goes, and I'm hoping it stays that way, at least for awhile.
Around 11:35, it was actually getting nice, but I had nothing really to watch except maybe the elk, which are usually good for about five minutes. Over at her tower, Amy watched MJ emerge at 11:33, and then fail to do anything more exciting than eat..which I get. After five months, a guy's gotta have priorities! Bowser had a somewhat more exciting day, having caught 20 by the car...after the thrilling day, I ran home, and we hit the store, where I found that Ben and Jerry's makes a creme brulee ice cream...ooh yes...
We spent a few hours at the bar, where I got to meet K. Delynne. She was very nice, if not somewhat eccentric, but I liked her immediately. She wore jeans with pink leg warmers over them, and a windbreaker over a sweater. Her hair was past the middle of her back, light grey, and in a braid. She wasn't wearing a cowboy hat (the main accessory here), but I was confident she owned at least one or two. She, Amy and I talked for awhile, and it was decided that she was going to have a party the next night at her house. Imagine that..my first Walden house party...

Gotcha!

Today was Wilbur's day off, so I was carefully monitoring the hill to make sure I didn't miss anything. As I watched, 30 emerged from XP, his favorite burrow of last year, but not the one he came out of a few days ago...the brat. I relocated his traps, even added a few, and stalked back to my tower. I was then treated to the sight of a possibly new dog, although probably not, at OK, it was most likely the dog from the other day poking up at a new location. He also won the prize of additional traps. I then sat in my tower for a few more minutes before yet another head emerged, most likely 35, although not entirely sure, out of O7, which meant more traps. I was happy to finely see dogs, but wished they'd coordinate their appearances just a little bit. I then watched the drama unfolding up the hill...
The unknown (think 2) dog at W2 was playing chicken with the traps, sticking his head and body in and out, in and out. You could almost hear him thinking: "Should I? Shouldn't I?" Fortunately for me, he decided he should, and besides that, if it was 2, he was a bit of a pig last year, and the oats were probably looking more palatable than the dried grass around the traps. He was trapped in a matter of minutes of indecision, and I watched him flail around the trap, perhaps thinking: "Noooooooo!". Amy also had success with her dog, who turned out to be Michael Jordan (number 23).
After MJ was marked, I carried piggy to the van, and along the way he did something I've never heard a pd do. He farted copiously and audibly the entire walk...I guess he was nervous, but I told him he was gross....and it did indeed turn out to be 2...the deuce is back!

K. Delynne

Today was somewhat slow, I saw what I think was 2, and after that no one else. We ended leaving at 3, with me running home. Since we had the time, we decided to check out the Stockman Bar, the only Bar in town. It turned out to be fun, really fun. Upon walking in, the bar was to the right, with perhaps 10 stools along it, and to the left were a few booths along the wall, with a fireplace after them. Further back in the room were a few more booths, a pool table, and a juke box. We had a seat, started talking with the bartender, Linda, about life in Walden. She told us about moving from Greeley, which is substantially bigger than Walden, when she was a teenager, and about the cliques that had existed at the high school, and probably still do.
After awhile, we decided to shoot some pool, as it was free, and listen to music from the jukebox, also free (both are free Monday - Thursday), the only concession being that the jukebox gets a dollar if a cue stick hits the floor...which Wilbur managed to complete in the course of the evening. As we were playing, a guy came in with his dog, who we later found out was named Socks, and walked up to the bar, taking a seat. Socks took a seat too, and no one batted an eye, this being a nightly occurrence. Socks is a talented dog, as we later also learned, he retrieves any thrown change, mainly quarters, and can bring back several at a time to be tossed again.
I soon decided to call it an evening, and later wished I hadn't, as I missed meeting Kathy, stage name K. Delynne. She and Amy hit it off, and I got to hear about her afterwards... more on her to come.

I thought the ridge was busy..

Today was the first day of a series of days off, since we're starting off slow at the moment, so Bowser took the first one. Myself, not feeling the need for one yet, so will probably skip the offer. Shortly in to today, I spotted one of my favs from last year, 30. His marker wasn't looking so hot, but that's easily fixable, as I installed 12 traps around his burrow of emergence. Shortly thereafter, I observed what I think was 2 up the hill, although he was completely devoid of a marker, and therefore it was just a guess.
As I was observing the dogs to my right (note the absence of dogs on the ridge), Amy had a dog that she had set traps for teasing her by popping up and down repeatedly, and Wilbur caught the first dog of the year...number 36, one of the big studs from last year. He weighed 1135 grams with the bag, which equates to approximately 1005 without it; translation being he's a big boy, even after not eating for five months.
Shortly after 36 was marked, it sort of turned out to be blob 6, we left..I ran home, a decision I somewhat regretted, as the wind was painfully cold.

Ole' Fleabag

Today we started the day behind two coyotes as we drove in, always a good sign that at least something was awake and moving. By mid-day, I had seen my first dog, well maybe not the whole thing, but at least I did see a head sticking out of OK' (to the left of burrow marker OK), and that gave me something to do...i.e set up 6 traps around where the head appeared. I then lounged in my tower until I noticed Flea boy from last year emerge, 35. His marker definitely needed some love, but he's one of the older guys in the colony (being at least 5 years old), and as of last year the most popular with the insects; he had to be vacuumed when we tried to do his flea count. Most dogs have more fleas than usual when they wake up from hibernation, somewhere in the context of 10-15, he had hundreds. Ewwwww.
35 was my last excitement for the day, and we left a few hours after his emergence, and after finishing up on the burrow markers. I ran home, which is always a good choice when there's enough light, as the scenery is amazing.

Here We Go..

Today was the first day that we came in and sat in the towers; I'm starting this year off in a new tower on the ridge, the ridge where a lot of the action and drama was last year, thanks to its proximity to the pond, and also to a certain badger that made frequent visits..
My day started out with spotting a large group of elk, noticing interesting cloud formations, and watching millions of horned lark displace and peck at each other...which could be a project in itself. As I was marveling at how nasty little larks can be, Amy saw two pd's at her tower, Bowser two...my count on the day was zero, a number comparable to this time last year...although I know they're coming...at some point. More importantly, my number for gs was also zero, although I'm not so concerned about them showing up yet..it's still early.
After a short shift of 4 hours in the tower, we hopped down and continued with the burrow markers, which of course included falling in burrows at regular intervals. My best was kneeling to grab a tag, and sinking to my waist in a hidden one...

Traffic cones...not just for cars..

Today our homes away from home were installed, roughly 4x5.5 feet, they're very cozy. The fork lift came, with Randy at the wheel (stick?) and in no time...2 hours..they were up and ready to go. My job in the process was to direct Randy which box to take next, a great position that involved standing around doing nothing (I'm somewhat lazy at times, and plus, my arms still hurt from the day before)..it was a niiice job until the wind started about .25 seconds into it, and then I was sad.

After the installation of our boxes, we set to work on the cones. Traffic cones. They don't seem so bad when you see them on the road, but as soon as you have to lift more than one...don't get me started. Seeing that I had whined to everyone about them, I was promptly put on windows, which made my feel only slightly guilty as I watched everyone else haul carts with 30 to 50 cones each. Maybe not even slightly...

After a somewhat interesting experience with part of a window that involved me chasing a bag around the barn, we started on burrow markers, which we can't leave up year round, as the elk seem to think they are rubbery yellow flowers (they're cow ear tags) that are fun to chew/eat. We made it through one area, and when we were done, we'd all had enough with hidden burrows and the amount of snow on top of them, which doesn't sound so bad, but starts to become that when you've stepped in 14 in the past fifteen minutes, 10 of which made you fall in up to your thigh...

Scaffolding...Not just for painting..

Today we went out to the refuge, and along the way, Amy and I discussed our failure from the day before of opening the gate (I had planned to give her the tour before research started, but we sadly failed at manual gate operation technique), and whether it just needed some brute force, which is not either of our fortes....luckily for us, the gate required a hammer and some significant pounding/yanking before it gave. We managed to make it into the refuge without getting stuck, as the snow was somewhat more significant than last year...as in majorly so.
We started immediately with erecting the scaffolding, which lay buried and frozen to the ground and itself. The process started easily enough, until it was realized that a few vital pieces lay out at an old tower site, and needed to be hauled back. I volunteered, and 15 minutes later after I had stepped in yet another burrow, I sincerely wished I hadn't.
At some point in the day, we managed to get all the skeletons up (as I tend to think of them), and then it was time to put the traps out. Last year there was not snow. Last year there wasn't a huge drift blocking the front door to the barn. Last year we didn't have to first climb the drift, fall into the barn, haul carts up, followed by traps, followed by more traps. This year, I got a serious workout in my arms and legs. This year, I mourned last year as I went to the fartherst tower with 24 traps, only to go back several times. Last year I didn't take off my jacket and first three layers; this year I got that new experience to remember always....

"I saw the lights on...."

It's big news whenever anyone new comes to town; if they stay, they have an appreciable affect on the town's population, so of course everyone wants to see who the new neighbors are, and if they're going to be good ones. Or in our case, spy on us. I went to the post office today to change my address (got to keep it update for residency) and pick up a package, and the post mistress not only knew who I was (not so surprising) but knew when we got in last night because "Ohhhh...I saw lights go on in the trailer..." (just plain creepy). After giving what I hoped was an acceptable response, I made my escape...I mean, she doesn't even live near us...at least I don't think..
After the titillating post office conversation, I made my next stop, which was infinitely more exciting, as it means my research is officially underway: my stop at the refuge headquarters to sign my permit. Shortly thereafter, John, Judy, Amy and I all went to Laramie (yes it's in another state) to pick up some groceries, that, surprisingly enough, we hadn't been able to fit in the car yesterday...

"Is Walden even in the United States?"

Ah yes...going back to Walden, although obviously, after taking a good look at my car, I was driving, NOT flying. I'm still surprised Amy and I got it all in (we have amazing packing skills, although visibility was a bit of an issue), and still had room for ourselves. The drive was uneventful, and fairly soon..to the tune of 3 hours, we had made it (back for me) to downtown Walden, population 600....soon to be 606.