Spring at Northwest Trek

My gut tells me that it’s really not fair posting pictures of “wild” animals taken at Northwest Trek, but when I think about how hard it is to get a decent picture while driving around trapped in a tram while the animals seem determined to conceal themselves in the shade I feel like there is at least some merit in showing interesting pictures, either to encourage others to visit the park or to further raise awareness of the beauty of these wild animals and what we risk losing if we continue to destroy their environment.

Most of the buffalo, deer and elk were in the midst of shedding their winter coat, so even when I managed to get a clear shot of them they looked rather scruffy. Luckily, this Big-Horn Ram was in much better shape than most:

Of course, the raccoons and the otters are more like my buddy Skye who loses his hair gradually all over my den, at least what hair he doesn’t rub off on my pants when he greets me as I get up or return home.

I loved this pose of the raccoon, perhaps because it reminds me of the way Skye stretches out while still standing watch at the window, protecting us from those pesky FED-EX deliverymen:

But my favorite sequence of shots were of the River Otter, rather amazingly since I’ve never managed to get a shot that I’ve even kept from previous visits:

I think the grandkids enjoyed the visit almost as much as I did, especially since my cold finally seems to be getting better.