“Beauty is not caused. It is.” ~Emily Dickinson

Okay....

I really, REALLY do not like snow.  I loathe it...despise it...(checking the thesaurus) abhor it, detest it...etc., etc., etc....

So, it pains me - literally - to also say (oh, man) that it's...

Pretty.

Crap-sakes.

Be vewwy, vewwy quiet...I'm hunting wabbits!

So...

I'm back.  I have (again) been a little lackadaisical in keeping up with my posts.  Oh, I've been taking photos, I just haven't been processing them.  I am hoping I just fixed that problem, though.  I upgraded Lightroom on my Macbook so I can be a little more mobile.  That gives me 8 extra hours a day to work on my pics.

Wink-Wink...

Well, since I didn't finish up posting my Black & White photos for my October project, I went back to rectify the situation tonight.

This here's a story about a man named Jed...oh wait...wrong story.

This is a visual story about a grand "hunting expedition" that Chuck, Pappy, Mara and I partook in last month.  As you can see, we were extraordinarily lucky to have captured these beasts in their "natural wild habitats".  Pappy and Mara were along as my spotters.  I have a habit of getting "in my zone" and forgetting to look where I am stepping.  Someone had to keep an eye on me, lest I walk right off a cliff...or into a Bubba.

We sneaked up on three wolves attacking a grizzly who was minding his own business...you know, eating a moose...

After that adrenaline pumping experience, we traveled on to a scrub brush area where we saw several ginourmous deer.  I'm pretty sure these guys were just white-tailed deer.  We have seen some cool mule deer in Texas but these guys were just locals (I think).

Further up in the hills, we came across this (seemingly) angry puma.  I bet you could have heard his roar for miles....and, wasn't it nice of him to hold that pose for me so I could get a couple of extra shots?

We also came across one of those pesky coyotes.  I've seen plenty of these bad boys right around the neighborhood.  If an ambulance goes by on US 27 in the middle of the night, it really sets them off.  Their yipping makes the little hairs on your head stand straight up!  Punks.

We saw a bobcat lucking in the shadows.  I was on the AA Highway down where we used to live the first time I saw one of these guys.  I probably could have petted this one, though.  He looked pretty friendly.

Then I saw some kind of grouse flying towards me...I was lucky to get Chuck up to my face in time!

Then there was a red fox capturing prey in his natural element...instead of the hen-house.  Kinda like a "captive audience", eh?

And finally, we saw a big, fat tom turkey...(we're going to be "dining" his brother in a couple of weeks.)  I recently saw a tom struttin' for the girls down on the AA Hwy - seems to be a lot of wildlife running around down there...

Well, there it is.  I have to admit, it was QUITE the adventure!  And...if you want...I am willing to divulge my secrets...reveal my source.

Okay.  Here goes...pack up whatever gear you feel is necessary to embark on your journey, choose a spotter to keep you from bumping into any Bubbas, travel down I-75 to the Buttermilk Pike exit in Crescent Springs, pull up to the Field & Stream store and enter the door like you own it.

Holy Crap...I've never seen so many stuffed animals outside of a Toys-R-Us!!

"Back home we got a taxidermy man. He gonna have a heart attack when he see what I brung him..."

Thanks!!