Everyone who has worked hard deserves to retire at some point. And this, we feel, goes for snakes as well. Our kingsnake, Spike, is approaching 24 years old, and we feel it’s time to give him a well-deserved rest. Spike has been instrumental in converting people from fearing snakes to respecting snakes. For many, just …
“Do you have any pets?” our neighbor asked as we settled our rig into the site we planned to occupy for four months at an RV resort near Phoenix, Arizona. The man’s Jack Russell terrier left his side to retrieve a toy in hopes of engaging us in play. “Uh……no,” we responded, wondering how he …
On Thanksgiving morning we drove into Desert National Wildlife Refuge to hike a trail up a wash into rugged, mountainous terrain. We encountered no one else all day on this remote refuge, but we did stumble upon evidence of human activity. Trash Pickup At the first area we stopped on the way to our trail …
In light of the recent death of Fidel Castro, I would like to take a one-time break from wildlife and share an article I wrote several years ago at the request of an old friend of mine who sponsored a family that escaped Cuba in the 1960s. After interviewing the mother of this family, I …
Not long ago we accompanied a few refuge staff members on a hike at Desert National Wildlife Refuge. This refuge is the largest national wildlife refuge in the lower 48 states, covering more than a million and a half acres. Consequently, we were able to hike to a remote canyon that is rarely, if ever, …
As a child growing up amid a plethora of 1950s TV and movie Westerns, I longed to be a cowboy – regardless of my female gender. After all, I loved horses, and cowboys in the movies led a glamorous life, free to ride the range all day and bring bad guys to justice. It wasn’t …
Stumbling upon elk carcasses in the Tetons is not difficult, as hunters harvest the meat of their kills and leave behind bones. Harsh winters take a few lives, as well, leaving carrion for scavengers and bones for rodents to gnaw. Hunters remove skulls with antlers for display, while shed antlers are collected in Spring to …