Tiva Ames, dogter of Andy and Rachel Ames, crossed the Rainbow Bridge last Sunday in the arms of her pawrents. While little is known about her first year of life, she was picked up wandering in Firestone, CO, held in captivity for 3 weeks waiting to be claimed, transferred to the Humane Society of Boulder Valley, named Schizzle, adopted by a family with a cat and returned the next day due to “too much energy.”  That’s when, on November 13, 2007, she was welcomed into the Ames family and named, Tiva -- a play on the words “Teva” meaning nature in Hebrew and La Sportiva.  From the first day she arrived into the Ames family, she brought love, joy and adventure.
     She accomplished many things during her lifetime.  She graduated from the puppy class of HSBV and dabbled with continuing education. In spite of her hip dysplasia, she was an accomplished athlete and won 5 doggie dashes with her father, Andy.  She had a running PR of 15:54 for the 5k and achieved 30 minutes in the stationary hot-tub swim.  She was licensed with the City of Boulder and earned her Voice and Sight Tag through OSMP. 
     Tiva was an avid wildlife observer and saw many deer, elk, foxes, coyotes, bears, bobcats and even a mountain lion.  Her favorite animals were the smaller variety, however, including rabbits, squirrels and chipmunks.  In her spare time, she loved to play with squeaky toys, cuddle on the couch, roll in the snow, play tug with her sisters, and frequent walks and naps.
     Tiva was preceded in death by her sisters Dewey (2006), Midnight (2009), and Summer (2014). She is survived by her pawrents and numerous extended family members.  She leaves a huge hole in the hearts of everyone who knew and loved her.  She is deeply missed.
     Tiva’s motto was “a door left ajar is the gateway to adventure.” Our parting wish for her is, “Run, Tiva, Run!  Chase the horizon! When you get tired, stop, point your nose to the wind and let the world come to you.  When we see each other again we will greet you with hugs and kisses, cuddles and love.”  We will love you forever, sweet Tiva.

Sunday was hazy and a bit smoggy but there was only 20% chance of rain predicted, so I wondered if I should water the lawn.  I ended up watering some flowers and decided the grass could make it one more day.  I did a load of laundry and hung it outside to dry.  As Andy and I sat down for dinner, I mentioned that we might need to bring in the laundry if it rained.  He looked at me like I was crazy!  Then it started to sprinkle so we got the laundry.  But then the rain stopped and we felt foolish. A few minutes later the REAL rain came.  Wow!  You could see the waves of rain coming down in sheets. As the flooding popped up the storm drain manhole cover, two stiff raccoons washed up onto the pavement.  We thought they must have drowned!  After a minute or so they got up and crawled to higher ground.  About 45 minutes later, we had 1.99" of rain in the gauge and a faint rainbow to tell us it was over.  What a trip!  Luckily, our house stayed relatively dry (except for the water that came in through the closed dog door).  Other parts of Boulder received a lot less than we did, but downtown got 2.25" in about 90 minutes.  What a storm!

Last October, the East Troublesome fire traveled into the eastern slopes of RMNP.  It came "too" close to our house but a big snowstorm stopped it in its tracks (see http://rachelames.com/blog/what-the-east-troublesome-fire-does-on-a-saturday).  It has been fascinating to watch the vegetation come back to life.  The Ponderosa pine trees (which are especially resilient to wildfire) are amazing!  While many trees look burnt beyond repair, there is new growth emerging.  The grasses and flowers are amazing, too.  Here are some pictures that show the change so far.  The video shows a 360 degree view of an area that burned. Perhaps the most interesting feature of the fire is how it burned some areas and missed others.   

This morning was the first time in over two months that I had been to the Sprague Lake area in RMNP.  The last time I was there I saw a white snowshoe hare, and today I saw one in its summer coat.  They are such interesting animals -- clearly skittish around humans but also willing to come back for a second look.  They are so fast that they are very hard to photograph until they are well protected by the sticks and logs that they call home. 

The vegetation is finally greening up in the valleys so the moose have come down from the high country.  On this morning, Andy and I saw two moose on the hill opposite Horseshoe Park (in RMNP) and two more at Sheep Lakes.  They were all males (bulls) and were more interested in eating and drinking than in all the visitors with cameras.  That is, until they spotted a coyote.  One coyote isn't a big deal, and after assessing the situation, they went back to their business.  After about 15 minutes, 2 more coyotes came racing out of the woods.  They were having a heyday chasing each other and had a joyful reunion with the third. That is when the moose become concerned.  Soon, the coyotes began harassing the moose and the moose began charging the coyotes.  What a sight!  It didn't last long (since the moose were clearly healthy) but it didn't stop the coyotes from yipping and singing with glee.  Soon, the moose retreated to the cooler woods and the coyotes went their separate way.  Amazing! 

May 20th is a big day.  32 years ago Andy and I said our vows in front of our family and friends.  Then, 4 years ago my father died on May 20th.  It is hard not to feel both joy and sadness on this day.  Of course, seeing something special seems fitting.  So, when we heard a commotion of Steller's jays, Clark's nutcrackers and common ravens, we knew someone must be in the neighborhood.  It didn't take long for us to find a great horned owl trying to get some peace!  The raven was particularly adamant that the owl leave the area.  We know there are fledgling Clarks nutcrackers and Steller's jays in the neighborhood and suspect there are some baby ravens, too.  Here are a few pictures of the event.

After a long, cold winter it is so much fun to see the migratory birds return to the Estes Valley.  Here are some of my favorites from the spring! Note that the Great blue heron and the American white pelican photos are from Boulder County but I did see both species in Estes Park, too.  The bald eagle is a year-round resident as long as Lake Estes is unfrozen.

Spring has arrived late this year so we were wondering when the first bears would venture out in search of food.  Thank heavens we have a trail camera and can spy on them!  Now we know it is time to bring in the bird feeders and secure our trash.  This boar (it is probably a male) looks like he made it through the winter just fine!

For several years now, there has been a pair of bald eagles that frequent Lake Estes. No one has found a nest, but they clearly seem to be a couple.  On this day, they hung out together on a power line until... Well, you know.  The other one had a look of embarrassment and flew away. Look out below!

While most birds are getting settled into spring, wild turkeys are getting ready for the mating season.  The toms try to impress the hens by strutting around and showing off their well-worn feathers.  Hopefully someone will get lucky!

Snowshoe hares are masters of disguise because they change their coats from grey in the summer to white in the winter.  Their footprints in the snow, however, give their location away.  That is, if the hare is still there!  This trail is littered with tracks going in every direction and I'm always on the lookout for the hare that made those tracks.  Today I almost missed it!  You can see where I tried to plant my pole in the snow but it fell over.  I didn't dare pick it up.  I had a long lens on my camera so I backed up but even then the picture I got was a little close!

While moose prefer marshy areas with lots of willows in the summer, they are incredibly cold tolerant and often live in the high country in the winter.  While there isn't any "lush" vegetation in the winter, they subsist on the bark and twigs of conifer trees.  On this morning, we spotted two bulls crossing the road as they made their way down the mountains. I didn't get a good picture of the younger one, but it looks like older one wintered well!

Lake Estes is unfrozen now and the birds are getting more active.  Could it be that spring is not far away?  It was fascinating to watch a bald eagle and red-tailed hawk perform some acrobatics.  I'm guessing that someone was being protective of their turf!

"Catching" a mountain lion on our trail camera is a special occurrence, catching 3 is amazing!  Can you spot them all in the first photo?  It was neat to follow their tracks in the snow. I've included another photo from March, too.

Special occasions usually call for some art work at the Ames house.  On this Valentine's Day, Andy practiced a "flat Andy and Rachel" in the living room.  Tiva felt left out!  Later, Andy put together our "flat couple" in the snow.  Someone else was out in the snow, too! Happy Valentine's Day!

For a while now, we've known that we live near a bobcat territory boundary.  We've set up our trail camera so that we get to view the scat, scent, and scratch process. What we didn't know is that coyotes would also be interested in that spot.  Or rather, perhaps they were interested in the scent left by our dog, Tiva, after she added it to the bobcat spot.  This week, we had a third visitor, who didn't scent but who left some mighty big tracks under our deck! Note the temperature on the trail camera.  We know one of the camera's sensors is a bit off, but it was certainly well below zero!

Wednesday started out quiet enough but soon we heard quite a commotion outside our house.  Dozens of Steller's jays were making quite a racket.  We knew the likely cause.  A great horned owl must be nearby.  Sure enough, we spotted a great horned owl "trying" to nap on this chilly day.  Below, you can see a video of the jays and some photos of the owl.  Notice how it puffed out its feathers to stay warm.  Luckily, the jays left after about 10 minutes and we got to watch the owl nap for the next 5 hours.  

Winter is the time when mountain lions are most likely to be "caught" on our trail camera.  The deer and other prey are often more concentrated in town so the mountain lions frequent our neighborhood, too.  Looks like this one had a good meal recently!

Inauguration was an exciting day for us.  Finally a change in the White House!  We couldn't help but be mesmerized by Bernie, though.  We're so glad he could join us for a picture!

On Thursday evening we saw a bobcat marking her territory in our back yard. Then, during the night we heard coyotes and in the morning we heard common ravens.  By the sounds of it, there had been some action during the night.  A light dusting of snow had fallen, so it was easy to find some clues.  What we found were some VERY satisfied bobcats.  A well fed mom with her 3 shy kittens.  Mom must have taken down a mule deer fawn, and she stayed with it the whole day so that they could have seconds the following night.  We assume that this is the same family we saw in September and are glad to know the whole family is still doing well! 

With the Park not fully open, Andy and I stayed closer to home this week.  We just had to get out of the house, though, so we took Tiva on a walk in the afternoon.  We just love coming up our hill and always look for who might be around the neighborhood.  Today it was a young bobcat!  I can't believe Andy spotted it next to the tree. We've seen several (or one several times) on our trail camera, but seeing it in person was incredible!  It looked at us a few times but then went about its business -- quite literally, and peed or pooped in the snow.  It carefully buried its business afterwards and then went on its way.

The East Troublesome Fire started off innocuously on October 14th, 2020.  Then about a week later it burned over 100,000 acres in one day.  Strong winds pushed it over the continental divide and onto the eastern slopes of Rocky Mountain National Park. Now it is almost 200,000 acres. It is funny that I've been photographing the same view from the edge of our neighborhood for years now.  It is fun to walk the mile from our house and admire the mountains.  Here are some pictures from Octobers. I never realized that I would be cataloging what the Park looked like before the fire.  We're back in Estes Park now, but our bags are still packed.  While the fire looks calm beneath the snow, we know that it is still smoldering and is just a strong windstorm away from flaring up again.  Can you spot the differences? Dates are in the caption. Click on any image for a larger photo.

There is a beautiful stone walkway that goes between our house and our neighbor's house.  Years ago, the two houses belonged to the same owner and this is a relic.  We have trail cameras at the base and top of the stairs, and it is fun to see who comes by.  Most of the time it is deer, but lately, the kitties are back in town.  No wonder Tiva is afraid of the dark!  (Note that the clock on one of the trail cameras is off -- it was only ONE mountain lion that walked by).  Enjoy!

Fall is when I love to touch up the house.  I paint, wash windows and generally clean up.  It is so nice to be outside when the weather is almost perfect.  On this Friday, I had to wait almost all day to get started because a herd of mule deer decided to nap in our back yard.  We marveled at how many trail camera pictures we'd get since one doe napped right in front of the trail camera.  All afternoon, we watched and waited as they dozed and chewed their cud.  Finally, a young fawn decided it was time to nurse.  We watched as he woke up his mom and demanded a snack.  The pictures we got on the trail camera ended up being priceless! 

Our kitchen table faces a rock outcrop and it seems like once a year we get to see a bobcat family resting under the cool rocks.  Today, we saw a mom with a kitten, maybe two? But the next day, we saw the whole family.  A mom and three kittens taking cat naps!