Mammoth Mountain

The Dude is flying down to Mammoth Lakes to meet up with old college friends and do some serious skiing.  I've skied a few places in the western U.S. and Mammoth ranks up among the best.  It's huge!  I remember when a lift ticket there cost $13, now it's $85.  Oh well.

Crocus

Crocus mean the dark cold wet days of winter are over.

Chipmunk

We don't often see chipmunks but every once in awhile one shows up at the platform feeder.  I think it's a Townsend's chipmunk (Tamias townsendii).  In back of our house is 120 acres of park land composed of typical western Washington lowland forest - western hemlock, western red cedar, douglas fir, bigleaf maple (some huge), and a few alder that are past their prime.

Squirrel Trap Fail

My son Geoff found a design for a squirrel trap on the web.  A paper towel roller slathered in peanut butter suspended over a 5-gallon bucket.  The next morning we had three drowned mice.  Fortunately, mice are not an endangered species.