I've seen

I have been horrible at updating. I have been worthless at emails and phonecalls. I have been lazy about journaling. My wireless internet at my house has left as mysteriously as it arrived. It returns occasionally but while I'm here at the library, I'll try to do a quick update.

In the past few weeks, I've seen

... a Bobcat! It ran right in front of my car as I was driving up the switchbacks to work one morning. It was larger than I thought they were supposed to be but I don't remember a tail so it must not have been a mountain lion.

... Desert Bighorn sheep just playing around on the East side of the park.

... a tree fall. I heard popping noises like firecrackers near my house on Oak Creek and then I saw the treetop of a cottonwood tree go down and heard the big bang.

... a mountainside ignite on fire. We don't have "mountains" here but that just sounds more dramatic. For the fourth of July, Springdale had a firework show but it had to be cut short because a firework ignited the whole hillside on fire. I heard rumors of it burning over 20 acres but who knows if that's true. The west temple rock formation was behind the fire and the whole red rock wall glowed as if a spotlight were on it! The crazy tour-ons evacuated and the rest of us just sat and watched it burn.

... a California Condor! She was just perched on a ledge at the Grand Canyon North Rim. Occassionaly she'd stretch out her 10 ft long wingspan just to show off.

... children teaching their parents about the Condor and how once there were only a couple dozen alive on Earth. On a sappy note, I got all teary eyed watching this because I remembered these are the kids who will be protecting this land one day.