12: stalked

Dear Friend,

How is your day going? Maybe you just realized that from the moment you opened your eyes this morning, your cat has been quietly scrutinizing every decision you’ve made, while your dog has been monitoring your caloric intake. Animal friends have a touch of wild inside, even high-maintenance inside-animals have that primal motivation to stare, watch, stalk…

Remember a couple weeks ago when I told you about the desert mouse that had gotten into the trailer and was sitting on the floor next to me, sizing me up as I (coincidentally) wrote important dialogue for a character, who just so happened to be a mouse in my sequel? I only noticed her sitting next to me because I felt like someone was watching me…

Speaking of that, (and sorry to segue so abruptly) … it seems that the mice-getting-into-our-trailer saga has come to an end. After capturing and relocating 10 mice with humane-mouse-traps and 2 more with Frank’s humane-mouse-catcher, that’s 12 total, we have not had another mouse in the trailer for a week! (Frank has spent some interesting hours in the desert dirt under the trailer with the drill, various caulking tubes and foam sprays, and he’s found and plugged even the tiniest holes and cracks. We’ve taken precautions to deter nest-building in the truck, too, and nights have been quiet).

Watch this very short demonstration of Frank’s incredible mouse trap.

Frank’s humane mouse trap takes a lot of patience, stillness, and the element of surprise. Most people would NOT find this trap very practical, but at the time it’s what we had, and it worked, twice!

This Great Egret, like Frank, is a mighty patient hunter. We met this bird as we visited one of Frank’s favorite places, a hot spring fed by Sierra Nevada snowmelt (the water is heated by magma along its underground course).

The temperature is unstable, so there are warning signs, discouraging anyone from getting into the stream. (There are also ‘Catch and Release Only’ rules when fishing in this stream).

But those rules don’t apply to this Egret.

He caught this fish before the fish even knew it was being stared at, watched, stalked…

Yes, it IS a big fish that he just pulled from the stream.

And after landing it, he set it to the side in some grass and hopped down to the water to drink a few swallows before returning to break-his-fast.

After his successful swallowing, he found a quiet place where he wouldn’t be disturbed.

Thermally heated water bubbles up from under the ground and meets cold creek water, the temperature is tepid in much of the stream, that’s why fish and birds seem to thrive here.

But there are also pools of very hot water, smelling of sulfur.

Not a far drive from these natural hot springs is a concrete tub, filled with water that is siphoned from a hot spring creek.

The temperature is usually between 100 and 105 degrees, but, like any hot spring, the temperature can fluctuate because of normal, natural, unpredictable geothermal activity.

We camped last week near Mammoth, California, along a beautiful snow melt lake. It’s known, near and far, as a great place to go fishing. Just ask a local.

I wondered why such a wonderful place would be called Convict Lake.

To make a long story short, it was named in the late 1800s after some escaped convicts from Carson City, Nevada, were finally captured, not without a deadly shootout, near the lake.

If you are interested in details about the naming of Convict Lake and more, READ A HISTORY TIMELINE of the Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Lab (SNARL) originally located along Convict Creek, where trout have been studied since 1935. The lake is clear, crisp and clean. SNARL is a big part of keeping the lake in its natural state.

What a truly beautiful mountain range!

There is a trail that circles Convict Lake and another trail that will lead you deep into the John Muir Wilderness. Even though Convict Lake is popular for camping and fishing, swimming and hiking, it was clear to us, as we hiked further up into the mountains, that this wild place is a gift to explore.

Thank you for being here to read Tracks by the Post! We are grateful for you and keep you in our daily Thanksgivings. Though we wouldn’t ever stalk, watch, or stare at you, we do enjoy hearing from you. Please Write when you have a moment, let us know how you’re doing.

Sending wishes for a light and happy week ahead,

Gently Be,

Leslie and Frank

PS: Update on hikers from last week's blog (11: beautiful you), I did hear from Jennifer, (from the family of hikers), everyone is fine, they weathered the first part of a storm and wisely turned back before the weather became too dangerous. It snowed, high winds, very low temps. I'll update you on the other group, (the guys), as soon as I hear from them.