summer_jackel

Back from a truly fantastic week in the mountains. It certainly did me a world of good. nesting and her dogs were excellent trail companions, the weather was great (even during the thunderstorm) and the beauty of the place eludes description.

And there are lots of pics; this post may kill your dialup. The DSLR is an extravagantly heavy toy to carry on a backpacking trip (and we both had one; between the two of us I hesitate to imagine how many pics came out of this trip), but it was worth it. Snake lovers in particular take note!

So hopefully I'll be a lot calmer for awhile. I am still overwrought about Osbick, but---it happens, I guess. I gave him the best care I could, I make a point of staying educated as to how, and he seemed happy with me. I just wish I could have known him better and for longer.

Trucker drama is also averted, thank goodness. Mom has yet a different living situation now and doesn't want Trucker back any more. If it comes up again, it will be even easier for me to just say she's settled into my home and is now my cat. Which she is.

Trucker, for her part, has been granted leave to explore the house, but so far has shown no inclination to leave the bathroom. My existing cats are not thrilled with the idea but haven't bothered her, probably because her attitude towards dogs and cats alike can be pretty much summed up as "if you stay about a cat-length from me, I will ignore you completely, but any closer and I will kick your ass in a very serious way." None of my animals have ever had to fight for resources in earnest, as you'd have to in a feral cat colony, and are pretty taken aback about how quickly and efficiently she enters and leaves butt-kicking mode.

So here's where I went.



( mountains, wildlife, dogs )

How could I not love dogs like these?



( Doggies, plants, maybe a parrot here and there )

I found a new bit of beach today. I'd not been there yet because it is a bit inaccessible; the trail ends at something of a cliff, which can be gotten down with safety and without damaging any vegetation, but just barely and not without focused concentration.

Worth it, though. And I took a lot of pictures. It was a nice low tide, and this beach had both exposed and protected intertidal areas---so I got to see almost everything that is commonly living out there. Creatures spotted include ochre, bat, leather and sunflower stars, purple urchins, black, lined and gumboot chitons, giant green, aggregating and brooding anemones, purple shore, hermit and rock crabs, tidepool sculpins, red, yellow and purple sponges, spotted and lemon nudibranchs and all manner of mussels and barnacles.

Of these, the black chiton, rock crab and brooding anemone are creatures I've never seen in the wild---lifers, if you're a birdwatching type. This makes me all bouncy in a way that the bird people here should have no problem imagining. Many sightings, particularly the nudibranchs, are creatures that are exciting and rare to see at any time. There were a lot of the spotted nudibranchs, which with their dull yellow coloration and shape are very well camouflaged against the sponges that they eat and resemble amusingly their shorebound banana slug cousins. I may see more of them now that I refreshed my knowledge of their habits by reading through my tidepool books again. Nudibranchs in general feed on sponges, and often each sponge has its own little coevolved sluggy predator. So, if you're in search of a predator, find its prey---I'll be extra careful checking over the sponges in the future.

It was an awesome day.



As well, I beg your indulgence.

( treasures to be had between the sea and sky )

I almost didn't go to the beach yesterday; I've been working a lot and out of town a lot, and I have a surfeit of things that need attention at home. But it was a truly beautiful day, and a nice low tide, and I had a fantastic time.

So did Coba. It was his first time at the beach. He knew exactly what to do....take off in an explosion of joy.



( I kill your dialup dead )

I had this all written out and then accidentally colosed the window, deleting the entry. /facepalm/ Let's try this again, shall we?!

So, I had an utterly fantastic trip. We went in to the Trinity Alps Wilderness of Northern CA, Long Canyon trailhead if you are that familiar with the area, for five days and four nights. We didn't see a single other human during that time, and it was a profound solitude. We got out a day sooner than planned because a storm came in on us. But for the last hike down to the truck (where I got soaked) we stayed dry, though.

I took lots of pictures. Warning: this post will kill your dialup stone dead.



( Going Up the Mountain )

This morning, as I was sitting on the couch in front of the tank, fishgazing, I noticed a wonderful thing. My four Amazonian Silver Dollar fish appear to be spawning, or doing some sort of related behavior. These are vegetarian cousins to the piranha, bright silver, circular, flattish fish, the largest of whom is a little smaller than my palm. They are swift, alert and graceful. In the five or so years I have kept them, one has consistently been somewhat smaller, with more distinct dappling above the lateral line. I've often wondered if this was a gender or subspecific difference; some net sources claim that there are at least 5 subspecies of these guys, which vary in terms of size (some wild ones get to be the size of muscular dinner plates and are an important regional human food source) and amount of dappling. I haven't yet found any clear description of the science around it.

At any rate, the little dappled guy is more colorful this morning. It’s subtle, but the kind of thing you notice when you know a fish. His fins are rimmed in fine black, his spots are bolder, his gill slits a deeper red. All four of them are glowing bright silver with health. As, keeping still, I watched them, they began to swim in quick patterns around the tank with deliberate formation and exquisite speed, the dapple's head just below the biggest silver's, almost but not quite touching. In their ritual, they switch partners amongst themselves effortlessly, chasing one another in a fashion that seems in no way violent. They're shy fish. When I move even a little, they all stop and face me, eight wide black eyes trained unerringly in my direction. A few seconds more of my stillness relaxes them, and they return to their dance.

Even when I try to be objective, I can't help but see joy in their movements. They are, of course, beautiful; that's mostly why I keep them, after all. But this is a lovely and unexpected reminder that these wild animals, whose ancestors were removed from their native river in a bizarre symbiosis in which they are protected from predators and humans gain a little glimpse of alien beauty, aren't just objects d'art in my living room. They are living, autonomous beings, little ambassadors from another world living their quiet, fishy lives according to their fancy and genetic dictates, whether or not I pay attention.

I can't say what a fish feels, but evolution graced my species with emotions, which motivate me to keep on living. It seems at least reasonable that they know something comparable. Those fish in there are experiencing something, which urges them to movement and presence with one another. Observing them, I feel my own, and hope that I may empathize with an alien kind of joy.

Kestrel and Lucy went to Yosemite and all I got were these...

...actually, these are some pretty darn sweet coyote pics! So yes, 2 of my sweeties went to Yosemite for a short pack trip. While there, they spotted a couple of God's Dogs sniffing around in the parking lot, chillin', doin' that Coyote Thang. Of course, being a great lover of all things coy, I was thrilled to get these, and equally of course all of you <3 coyotes too, because how couldn't you, really, so I am sharing. I saw one in the Ansel Adams high country last summer, but he never got close enough to get good photos of...not being habituated to humans, he saw us and split.

( These cuties stuck around, though )
I have this feeling that I ought to say a few words about polyamory here; there's got to be a long, thoughtful exploration of jealousy and compersion and the way personal growth is often what happens when you're looking in the other direction. But let's keep it short. Am I a little sad that the spice went on a trip without me? A bit, of course. Am I sad that the triad dynamic between us three just doesn't go as deep as between all 3 pairs, one result of which is that things like major journeyings are best done in pairs? Well, it is certainly getting a lot easier. Did I enjoy going to the city and listening to awesome punk/Celtic fusion with the new lady I am unexpectedly courting? Hell yes. Am I looking forward to the pack trip Kestrel and I are planning? ...are you kidding?! Does Tiger like to claw things?! More seriously, did my flexibility in this benefit my relationships with both of them and the cohesion of our triad? Yes. Very much so.

What I think I'm trying to say is this: in my experience, we usually enter into relationships with some kind of preconceived ideal of what we want, what we're looking for, and what will make us happy. People grow and change, and relationships can be like chemical reactions with unknown compounds: what you get may really surprise you. Often as not, it may, uh, diverge a bit from your ideal. At that point, we have some choices: we can get out of the situation and try again, or we can explore what is and see what we can do with it. In a changing environment, the adaptable creature flourishes best: ask any coyote.

And sometimes, exploring unexpected terrain, we find kinds of blooming gardens we never dreamed of.

Kestrel and I did not end up going on a particularly long trip, but it was memorable. We kayaked across Tomales Bay to Pt. Reyes and camped on one of the beaches there. Unfortunately, we neglected to bring the poles for our exciting new 4-seasons, oh so warm and toasty, tent. (I managed this feat because, since I'd never used the thing, I didn't realize the poles and fly were stored in a separate bag as the tent itself. And Kestrel didn't double check). So when everything froze solid that night, we were, um, cold. But not too cold; it was still fun.

We saw tule elk, harbor seals, sea lions (which were huge! They were just amazing) and oodles of birds, including scaups, bufflehead ducks, terns, mergansers, osprey, surf scoters, loons, cormerants, murres, great blue and green herons, pelicans, egrets and all sorts of little songbirds. I went to sleep to the sounds of coyotes yipping, and saw their tracks on the sand, along with raccoon, fox and bobcat. It is a beautiful place.

...next time, I won't forget half of the tent. :P

( There are a few pictures )

Days 4-5, at Papoose Lake on the other side of Goodale Pass, and going over Silver Pass. (and from there, downhill and to the car. The cool tree pics on photos 2 are from that last day. Wouldn't it have been nice if I'd done these in chronological order?! :P) The trip was: from trailhead to the Graveyard Lakes, over Goodale Pass, over Silver Pass, back down to the trailhead. 5 day trip.

( Up and Over )

Soooo, I now have a flickr account. All of my trip photos are not yet on it because there are too many...I will have to wait until next month to upload the rest...but in the meantime, here are, I think, most of them. Can you see these? I've not used Flickr before, and am still getting the hang of it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/35162009@N00/sets/72157601938012215/