We have had a four-week dry spell, with the mountain sunny and cool while
the valleys are socked in with ground fog.
More rain is expected in late December, and will be welcome.
We had an extensive visit by a mountain lion at the creek crossing.
Usually cougars seem to be "just passing through," patrolling their
vast territories. But this one, a male I believe, explored the creek area
for over an hour one evening.
Plenty of deer and other animals use the creek crossing, but not at the same time as the mountain lion.
On the hillside forest trail, a gray squirrel seems to be attacking the
camera. It is actually using the camera box as
aid to climb the coast live oak it is strapped to. You can see and
hear that behavior at the end of the video clip.
This photo of a spike buck with its winter coat is included for the lovely late afternoon light.
This coyote on the upper mountain meadow looks and acts like many domestic dogs I have known.
This month, another bird (or the same one) in the same pose can clearly
be identified as a Steller's jay. As was suggested, the previous orange
hue
was apparently some sort of lighting effect.
