Jim and I were surprised to encounter a western meadowlark on the haystack on this last day of 2012. I’ve mixed feelings about the year we’re putting to bed – there has been so much sorrow for so many. So it is with joy that a meadowlark closes out the year, and sings in the …
Author: Cat Urbigkit
Ranch Life
Jim and I had a little time to kill on our friend Pete’s ranch today when we went to pick up our rams. I thought Q readers might enjoy a quick tour. The photo above provides the setting – a western Wyoming ranch, at the foothills of the Wind River Mountains. Livestock guardian puppies awaken …
Cooperation continues
I’ve been making frequent visits up the road to keep tabs on Coyote and Badger, and I’m pleased to report that their cooperative hunting relationship continues. I first saw and photographed them on Sunday. On Monday, it was a dreary and rainy overcast day, but I did manage to find the pair again, just as …
The girls go on a hunt
My coyote magnetism continues. Sunday afternoon as I headed down the highway en route to the sheep, a beautiful coyote with long gangly legs ran across the road in front of me. Laughing at the continued presence of these wild canines in my life, I pulled off the highway to get a few images of …
In Effigy
Back to normal programming
I don’t know why, but I’ve never seen as many coyotes as I have this year. Is it due to the drought, good pup production, or the fact that I seem to be a coyote magnet? When I was driving out to see the sheep two days ago and was thinking about posting a …
Purchasing public policy
Last week it was announced that the Trust for Public Land had entered into an agreement with Plains Exploration & Production Company to purchase oil and gas leases on 58,000 acres of land in the Wyoming Range. Once the $8.75 million transaction is complete, federal officials will permanently retire the leases. This is the latest …
The woman has no shame …
I love this poster that The Countryman Press created to promote my new book, so I’m posting it here to show it off. In the original image that serves as the background, there is actually a slash of rainbow-colored light escaping from the cloud cover over my sheep herd as they graze along the Wind …
This week in the neighborhood
It’s been a great week for wildlife encounters. I was driving down the highway and watched a group of swallows wheeling and flying quickly, with a Swainson’s hawk in their midst. The group flew near the New Fork River bridge and I actually saw the hawk grab a swallow! The hawk flew with the small …
Grizzly wake
Attracted by the foul-smelling carcass of the calf he’d killed the day before, the grizzly bear climbed into the green metal box to resume feeding. As he grabbed the carcass with one huge front paw, the metal door of the cage slammed shut behind him. Trapped, the bear sprawled atop the carcass to wait out …