Category: Animals
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Waterfowl | Vantage, WA | February 2020 Resting Birds #2 | The Columbia River widens just above the I-90 bridge to become an attractive rest area for birds. No telling why they love it — food? safety? — but they don’t just float there, they frolic. They flap and splash like kids in a swimming…
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Killdeer | Sunland, WA | February 2020 Resting Birds #1 |The list of birds I know on sight stretches to about, um, nine. Crows, robins, pigeons, hawks, eagles, geese, pelicans, flamingoes, ostriches, and we’re done. I’m always incredulous when dedicated birdwatchers tell me they traveled to Arizona and spotted 143 different species. Since nobody can…
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Thirsty Poodle | East Wenatchee, WA | February 2020 At the River #3 | We’ve trained the dog in basic commands — sit, stay, heel, come — which he fully obeys when he sees the need. I mean, why sit like a schlump when it’s clear that squirrel needs chasing? In return, he’s trained us…
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3 Species | East Wenatchee, WA | February 2020 The big family from two motel rooms away had claimed the best stretch of sand. Blankets, umbrellas, ice chests and inflatable toys covered the exact spot where the finest shells washed up. “When will they leave?” I asked Mom. “All I know,” she said, “is that…
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Feathers | Twisp, WA | February 2020 Despite his $60 hairdo and preference for grilled salmon, our poodle Joey loves to roll on dead things. He sniffs out deer carcasses, coyote skins and decaying bird bodies even in winter under a foot of snow. Out recently for a midnight pee, he made a beeline for…
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Star | East Wenatchee, WA | January 2020 This spray of hair on the forehead of an otherwise dark horse indicates deep genetics at play. Or the horse simply scratched his head on a nail, and the hair grew funny. Scientists, who seem unsure of what causes the stars and blazes on horse faces, also…
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Landing | East Wenatchee, WA | January 2020 “We’ll be making an unscheduled landing due to an approaching cold front,” said the jet pilot who was flying us to Chicago. So we touched down at a small airport in Wisconsin and sat as snow began to fall hard. Hangars blurred into dark shapes. Crews in…
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Eyes | East Wenatchee, WA | January 2020 “Owners of dogs will have noticed that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they will think you are God. Whereas owners of cats are compelled to realize that
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Two | East Wenatchee, WA | December 2019 As a devoted ground mammal, I struggle to imagine life in the air. And it’s not just because I’m queasy about heights. The notion of going from Point A to Point B without navigating around trees, buildings and mountains — to fly — gives wing to a…
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Wired | Wenatchee, WA | November 2019 “Pigeons are among the most maligned urban wildlife, despite the fact that human beings brought them to our shores and
IrwinFoto 