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Tuesday, February 8, 2011 - Bosque Birdwatchers RV Park, San Antonio NM

Ready, Set, .., Snow Geese, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM, February 8, 2011
Ready, Set, .., Snow Geese, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM, February 8, 2011

Explosion

People travel miles to see what comes next. Now I know why. A few thousand Snow Geese resting on the ice out beyond the cranes suddenly stood up en masse, turned, and blasted off in a furious, roaring, quacking, cloud of flapping wings.

This neophyte didn't know this was coming and wasn't ready to get a worthy picture but maybe I can tease something from the few caught by my urgently flapping of the shutter that'll give some hint of this startling, awesome eruption to put up here tomorrow.

Night camp

Site 10 - Bosque Bird Watcher's RV Park, San Antonio NM

Absolute Silence

I remembered hearing of a backcountry Park Service ranger who was cleaning up after dinner one evening when he heard a chilling scream. He ran out of his cabin in time to see a mountain lion standing with a dead deer next to her. The lion saw the ranger and bounded off. The ranger realized this might be a rare opportunity to closely observe a mountain lion, so he stationed himself a short distance away from the deer carcase. He sat in absolute silence, and listened closely as night deepened. After sitting in darkness for well over an hour, he gave up hope of the lion's returning and stood up. In the powerful beam of his flashlight, he could clearly see that the dead deer was no longer there. ...

Caught in Fading Light: Mountain Lions, Zen Masters, and Wild Nature by Gary Thorp

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