Skunk/Deer/Fox/Coyote/Salamanders/Pelicans/

Animal encounters in the last week:

-Dead skunk on road. Nice shiny winter pelt, no smell (it happens every once in a while). I left it there since I skinned a beautiful skunk a few weeks ago.

-Freshly killed deer. Passed this up if for no other reason than my shoulder is still in recovery period — all the more so because I tweaked it picking up oak firewood off road — dumb shit! So am taking a step backward and giving those tendons time to heal. Rly.

-2-3 foxes this week. Bushy tails. Stepping smartly. Foxes are back. About 20 years ago we had tons of small animals around, including many foxes, and some kind of disease got most of them: raccoons, skunks, foxes, possums — populations severely diminished. But now they’re on the rise. I love watching foxes — elegance of the Candidae family.

-A coyote who ran away, then stopped and looked back at me. Mischief in eyes.

–Salamanders ambling mindlessly across trails and fire roads — as soon as there’s moisture.

-Line of about 20 pelicans single-file, flying about a foot above the waves. They often get into the updraft of waves and fly without moving wings. Watched them from above, and they flew around a cove and circled a few times before settling.