Sunday, December 21, 2008

The paparazzi bore me

Wolves yawn and get sleepy at midday, did you know that?

And they curl up on the snow with their noses tucked into their tails just like their domestic cousins do on your couch.

Can you imagine that?

Ever wonder what it feels like to hear a couple dozen of them sing an impromptu concert in response to a raven cronking overhead?

Really, really cool and goose-bump inspiring, actually.

I got to spend a couple hours this afternoon at the
Lakota Wolf Preserve taking pics and freezing my butt off in the snow.

Oh! You know those little hand-warmer packets they sell? They're worth it and feel really really good inside your shoes.

;-)

More tomorrow.

13 comments:

RG said...

Can you imagine being out camping in the snow at night where they live ??? Another world ....

LauraHinNJ said...

Rabbit's Guy: Pfft. I'm in NJ after all.

;-)

Anonymous said...

What a neat experience. I love it when I hear coyotes whooping it up outside. Wolves would be even better!

bobbie said...

That is something I would love to experience!

KGMom said...

I love wolves. . .and think they get a really bad rap in fairy tales, etc.
Of course wolves do all those things--aren't they the ancestors of domestic dogs. Eons ago, first wolf sidled up to the campfire of first human--and thus was born this marvelous symbiotic relationship.

NCmountainwoman said...

Great photograph. How did you find room in your shoes for a pocket warmer?

Leza said...

You are *so* lucky to have gone there! Several years ago, my sister took her kids there and told us we just *had* to go there when we came out to visit my family. It is such a *cool* place to visit! The stories they tell are really interesting, too, which my kids enjoyed. Do they still have four different species living there? I love how when he howls, they howl along with him!!! :-)

This place didn't exist when I was living in NJ or I would have been torn between visiting the wolves and canoeing down the Delaware when planning a trip to the western side of the state. (Much of our "free" time was spent down at the shore!)

Thanks so much for posting this! It brings back very happy memories! :-)

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

I'd LOVE to see and hear a wolf in the wild.

Carolyn H said...

I've only heard wolves howling a few times--once while I was camping in the Yukon, which was pretty cool. Never seen one in the wild, though.

Carolyn H.

Leza said...

It's really cool! I've only heard them once or twice where we live now up in WI, but it's such a neat opportunity at Lakota Wolf Preserve to be able to experience them there! :-)

MevetS said...

Laura,

Thanks, I've never heard of this place. Very cool.

Did you go on the Serious Photography tour or as a regular visitor?

To get a feel what it is like liking with wolves check out the book, Wolves at Our Door by Jim and Jamie Dutcher.

And I'd love to have some snow around here.

RG said...

See? I bet you could organize a pretty successful "Winter Camping with Wolves" expedition. A few takers right here!

LauraHinNJ said...

Rabbit's Guy: I would love to imagine that, actually!

Liza: I've not ever heard coyotes here. There's been sightings... and the expected suburban panic, but I haven't been so lucky yet.

Bobbie: Yeah... really neat.

KGMom: Yep, they do. Our relationship with wolves is a really sad history.

NCMountainWoman: Ha! All that snow was cold!

Leza: Hi! Thanks for your comments. I'm not sure how I hadn't heard of this place before, but anything in North Jersey feels like another planet to me.

;-)

I didn't do the regular tour... so missed the storytelling. Sounds like it might be fun, too.

Lynne: Yeah... me too.

Carolyn: Really? Wow.

Steve: I'd love some snow, too!

I did the *serious* thing (g) as trying to take pics from behind all that fencing would only have made me nutty.

It's a haul up there, though with better planning I might have seen some eagles, too.

Rabbit's Guy: I've not ever camped in the winter, but think it might be pretty fun, so long as there's a big enough campfire.