Saturday, May 19, 2007

"M" again...

In my frantic attempts to keep my mind off the dip, I've been doing a lot of walking this week. Much of it has been on the M mountain (I think I went up there three times this week) and last night I finally remembered to take my camera with me:


This is about halfway up. Can you believe I actually saw a deer in this sun-blasted wasteland on Thursday? Me neither. First one I'd ever seen there; probably the only one up there.


This is Lena, my companion for the hike yesterday. Of our three dogs, she's the one with the least hang-ups; although not the most obedient, as I found out last night. This picture is actually pretty flattering... she's quite ugly in person...


Well, here's the view from the top, the entire Brown Valley spread before you. Yesterday was pretty hazy so the furthest reaches of the valley could not be seen, as one can on clear days.


Although the haze can be annoying for visibility, it does sometimes make for good visuals:


That ridge in the distance is the Cleveland National Forest; kinda looks like its floating in the clouds, or as if there's an ocean between here and there. This picture really doesn't do it justice.

Say what you want about smog; it makes for some bitching sunsets...


That's looking West - obviously - and I believe those hills in the distance are in the Hollywood/Burbank area...
By this time, I realized I needed to get off the damn hill; it was starting to get a little chilly, I'd forgotten to bring water (guess I can only remember one thing at a time, and this time the camera won out), and coyotes were starting to howl. I wasn't particularly concerned for myself, but trying to explain to my wife why the dog got chewed up by coyotes could have been somewhat problematic...

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

my favorite post yet...btw, Lena is NOT ugly...

FHB said...

Really, Lena looks nice to me. Nice post my man. Nice scenery, but that smog has got to suck.

And where there's one deer, I'd bet there's many. Enough to keep the coyotes busy, I bet.

Kevin said...

Julie - Lena ain't pretty like Greta, or cute like Spartacus... that damn piglet tail of hers drives me nuts.
FHB - yeah, the hazy days are a pain in the ass. On that picture at the top in daylight you can see that brown smudge across the sky. It clears up pretty nice after a good rain though, but we haven't seen much of that this year at all.
You've gotta be right about the deer, but I was pretty astounded to see one up there. There doesn't seem to be much to live on for herbivores.

phlegmfatale said...

Wow - fabulous photos, and I think the dog is pretty, actually. Good for you for doing something with your energy besides sitting around and missing your chaw. And it was good for the dog, too. Seeing the deer sounds like a nice reward for doing something healthy.

NotClauswitz said...

Of all the things that frighten deer and other wildlife the very most, the sight of a man walking with a dog brings the greatest panic and alarm - it's the ancient dread of hunters.
You could probably ride straight up to them (I have) on a off-road motorcycle, because then you're unrecognizable as human - you look like something from outer-space, with your helmet, and body armor, smelling like two-stroke funk and making weird ring-a-ding noises.
If there's coyotes up there there's more deer - they're everywhere, like damn pigeons!

Kevin said...

DC - over the last couple-three years, the county I live in has gotten VERY hostile to off-roaders; in fact, I don't think there are any recreation areas left here, except for private pay-to-play ones. Used to be we could roll out in the hills behind town, but the laws tightened up and now the local PD has bought themselves some ATVs and are really laying the smackdown. Closest dirt riding for me right now is Berdoo Co.

NotClauswitz said...

Is it time for us all to get plated bikes? Around here I can only ride at a couple off-road "parks" - I much prefer going up to the Sierras but it's a five-hour drive.