Mule Deer family
Terri Webster Schrandt

Sunday Stills: It’s a #Wild(Life) World

I’ve been very global-oriented lately in my perspectives as I consider what I share for Sunday Stills. Last week my world felt confined to the inside of a snowglobe, in a good way. This week, wildlife is the theme as I share wildlife in my current world of Eastern Washington and beyond.

Some people talk to animals. Not many listen though. That’s the problem.

A. A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

This little rabbit has made a home under my studio (or she-shed). He frequently pops up to eat the random weeds that grow above the snow. Neighbors have warned us not to let critters live under the main house as they can destroy the insulation by trying to make a nest. Luckily our manufactured home is “pit-set,” meaning there are no entries for small animals like field mice, raccoons, and squirrels…and wascally wabbits!

Resident Rabbit
Wesident Wabbit

The daily deer parade never gets boring. The neighbors’ five-acre property across from ours is home to the daily feeding. My neighbor sets out hay and corn cobs for the white-tailed or mule deer and at last count, over 16 came to dinner! Can you see the bonus goat in the first image?

Deer trio and goat
Three deer and a goat
Doe a deer
And the young buck watches them all!

Just south of the neighbors’ home is another residence that boasts the orange and brown outbuilding that beautifully frames the images. I love the young buck’s “lookout stance” as he contemplates gracefully hopping the 4-foot-tall fence and enjoying dinner.

Sometimes the young deer get curious at seeing my two brown dogs, Brodie and Aero, and come closer to check them out. I’m so glad there is a sturdy fence between the properties as I fear Brodie (on the left) might annoy a deer for the first and last time. Their hooves can kill! Bonus points if you can see this doe’s tongue as she licks her chops.

Deer and dogs
Who’s watching who?

Animals exist with us and communicate with us in many ways. If we allow ourselves to become still enough to notice, and if we live in a sacred way, we shall realize that communication with them is natural.

Reverend Misa Hopkins

No photo collection featuring wildlife of the Pacific Inland Northwest is complete without the requisite shot of the magnificent American bald eagle!

Bald Eagle on the hunt
Intense Bald Eagle

Of course, bald eagles and other raptors are common here (aren’t I lucky?). Quail and wild turkey live here year ’round but the purple-green swallow is seen mostly in spring.

Bald Eagle
On the Wing at Lake Coeur D’Alene, ID
Western Osprey
Western Osprey
Perched Swallow
What are YOU staring at? (Purple-Green Swallow)
Turkey Vulture
Turkey Vulture
suburban turkey
Turkey in my front yard
Flock of Quail
Quail family

Wildlife is abundant here in rural Stevens County. We are near Lake Spokane/Long Lake which is part of the Spokane River that also includes the Little Spokane River—a popular waterway for kayaking and fishing. These waterways eventually flow into the Columbia River to the South and West.

Still Waiting to See…

  • A moose. I did see one last August while kayaking on the Little Spokane River but couldn’t get the shot.
  • I heard the mating bugle call of a bull elk in the hills around my nrighborhood, but still haven’t laid eyes on any yet.
  • Big Foot? Hmmm…

For those of you who prefer indoors in the winter, you may like my wildlife pattern on our new-ish chair we bought at the Wild West furniture store in Idaho.

Wild Sofa pattern
Careful where you sit on this wild chair

Staying Fit with Photography

All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking.

Friedrich Nietzsche

I love walking and when I’m smart enough to take my real camera with me, I’m rarely disappointed. Saturday, we took the two-hour drive to the Grand Coulee Dam in central Washington. No pics of the dam at the moment, BUT, as we walked the trail around the dam, a white-tailed deer family caught my eye. Despite two humans and two noisy dogs tromping around in the snow, the deer didn’t move too much and I got within 30 feet of the deer and caught this adorable close-up you see here.

White-tailed Deer family
Well, hello!

I would edit Nietzche’s quote to read: All truly great photographs are conceived by walking! I logged 6000 steps walking around shooting (ha!) deer in 25F degree weather!

And One More Very Wild Animal

Little 13-pound Aero loves his half-acre on which to run and play, but all this cold white stuff is NOT for him. After he does his duty, he comes tearing into the house!

dog running lickity split
Aero’s on the run back into the house!

Photo Challenges this Week

Each week I am inspired by my fellow bloggers’ photo challenges. I find it fun to incorporate these into my Sunday Stills weekly themes, when possible.

Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders

Sunday Stills weekly challenge is easy to join. You have all week to share and link your post. Feel free to “double-dip” with other photo challenges!

  • Please create a new post for the theme or link a recent one.
  • Entries for this theme can be posted all week.
  • Title your blog post a little differently than mine.
  • Tag your post “Sunday Stills.”
  • Don’t forget to create a pingback to this post so that other participants can read your post. I also recommend adding your post’s URL into the comments.

Sunday Stills is a wonderful community of bloggers and photographers who desire to connect with one another. Below are this week’s links from bloggers who shared their wildlife (or wild?) photos.

Special Request

I always share your Sunday Stills post when possible, mostly using my Facebook page and Twitter. If you are on Facebook and haven’t visited my Second Wind Leisure PAGE, please do and like the page. This way I can share your posts on that page, and your name will appear. Also, I recommend that you select your featured image on your posts because that is what is shared on social media. Not every blogger is concerned about sharing posts on social media, so no pressure.

I’m excited to see your posts of wildlife this week, or perhaps your “wild” life?? Please feel free to be creative! Have a great week!

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97 comments

  6. Living with wildlife never grows dull, Terri. Beautiful shots of the fauna around your home and lovely quotes. Oh, and your wild west upholstery caught my eye. How fun and perfect is that! Stay warm and enjoy your week. 🙂

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  11. Hi Terri. Nice photos! I really like that Eagle photo – it’s beautifully framed in that tree. Nothing from me this week but hope to contribute next week.

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  13. I’m with Aero Terri! That’s why we moved south although our current cold snap is causing me to wonder about the choice LOL. We too have deer everywhere and like your they seem unbothered by us. One summer day a mama actually came right up to me on my bicycle which I’d stopped to take her photo. She proceeded to lick the salt off of my sweaty legs! I was so shocked the photo I finally remembered to take is awful! We also have bobcats which control the deer population but of late have had problems with them dying from pesticides people are using on their homes. We’ve now outlawed the pesticides and are recovering, albeit slowly. Terrific choice of subject, stories and images this week.

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    • Heehee, Aero is pretty smart! I just buy new warm boots and call it good, Tina! I can’t imagine your deer being so tame, what a cool memory. I would have been nervous! Thanks so much, despite cold conditions (which I actually enjoy) we feel so blessed to live here.

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  17. Terri,
    Fun topic! Your Whitetails from the Grand Coulee have their winter coats on and make great subjects. I love the Purple-Green Swallow as well. Are they unique to the west? My contribution for the week is probably my favorite from our summer trip. I spotted this handsome gray wolf in Yellowstone working over a moose carcass. He couldn’t have cared less about me staring him down. A rare sighting for sure! Have a great week! Joe

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    • Thanks, Joe, glad you liked those deer. They’re everywhere here. I first thought the swallow was a barn swallow but someone pointed out their color which I couldn’t see until I got the shot! Oh my, your wolf looks amazing. I can’t wait to get to some of the west’s national parks this summer!

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  20. We are so scared we might see a wild animal that the cats have become house pets. I’ve yet to see anything roam close by our doors. I’m on the lookout. I have some post photos that are pretty wild, though!

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    • WE were very nervous with the dogs when we first moved her and no fences were around. We’re still not fenced in completely, but the whole backyard and sides where we might see deer are fenced. I still go out with both dogs to walk around with them, in case of the stray coyote. You are wise to keep your kitties in the house. We’ll never get cats for this reason 😦

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  25. That is a lot of snow, Terri. Brrrr… And, a super cool shot of a super cool baby deer looking at you – and us. I love spotting wildlife. In my current surroundings, it’s mostly turkey vultures, pelicans, egrets, and some smaller birds, but I do hope to glimpse a few whales and a whale shark before we leave Baja.

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    • Oh you must go swimming with the whale sharks, Liesbet. It is an incredible experience. We did it at La Paz, not sure where there is another place to rent a boat but you would love it! Our snow is slowly melting, now if we could just get rid of the fog! I’ll be thinking of you in warm Baja!

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  26. These are fabulous photos Terri, especially the ones with the orange background and the deer look so at home there! I’ve been away celebrating my grandson’s first birthday, wild in some ways, but not enough to share for your Sunday Stills this week 🙂

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  28. Beautiful wildlife, Terri! I absolutely love your opener/header and all your animal photos! Living so close to them is wonderful – and what photo ops! I will have a go at double dipping this week.

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  34. Terri, I am not surprised that the deer let you get close. If the neighbors are feeding them, they will not be afraid of humans. They are lucky that you were just out ‘shooting’ with a camera! Beautiful photos, as always. Love the wabbit! Thanks for linking my post this week. Take care

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    • Thank you, Susanne! The deer at the dam (my hubby now calls them the dam deer) must really be used to people. The deer all around our neighborhood are skittish but there is a lot of open forest around us. They seem “tame,” I still keep a respectful distance!

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  41. Your last picture was labeled by Washington Game we were living in Washington. They are really good eating. as Quail Family the males likeChurker which I would expect it in you are. They were imported by the state.

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  47. What extraordinary wildlife you are surrounded by, Terri. I’m wondering if the deer eat all your plants, especially during the summer months, or do they only come seeking food when the ground is covered with ice and snow?

    We have wildlife here in Wales, but nothing I’ve ever been able to capture on a photo. I do have photos of cows and (of course) Toby and Austin, but I fear I’ve shown you too many of those photos.

    Nothing to share this week, but I’ve enjoyed the photos of wildlife you’ve shared with us. Thank you.

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    • Thanks so much, Hugh! Living in a rural area of the mountains sure makes for wildlife moments here. At my former home we managed to see raccoon, squirrels, rats, and the occasional wild neighbor, LOL, and of course tons of birds. Around here, people wrap young trees in fencing to keep the deer and elk from eating the bark and young twigs as well as preventing the males from rubbing their antlers against the trees. We have enjoyed the deer parade and it’s cool my neighbor feeds them regularly. The 4 and 5 foot fencing we have up so far does nothing to keep the deer out, but a small circle of fencing around the trees makes it impossible for deer to jump into (they need a bit of running start). I always appreciate your comments and support of Sunday Stills, Hugh! Have a great week!

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      • Wrapping young trees in fencing sounds sensible, Terri. And come to think of it, I have seen it done in national parks here in the UK. Now it makes sense why they’re being protected from wildlife. No deers where we live, though. I think the biggest wildlife we have are foxes. We do see them sometimes, but always at nighttime. The dogs always know when they’re about, as they start going crazy—quite a scare when you’re fast asleep.

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