topic Re: Mountain Excitement in Community Chat

Mountain Excitement

On It — Sat, 24 Jun 2023 14:36:18 GMT

This morning I woke at 5:30 and opened the blinds. The elk herd was migrating through my front yard. Some walked up to my bedroom window. They had many babies that still had their spots. My husband counted 45 or more. They are magnificent animals.

Two days ago two guys cut down three pine trees across the street that were 50-60 feet tall. One climbed each tree not quite to the top. He cut off branches and lowered them to the ground. The second one took the branches off the rope and sent it back up. When all three trees had the lower branches removed, they dropped each tree in the only spot available between several obstacles. It was perfect precision.

Yesterday a fire broke out about 6-8 miles west of our house. We had 35 mph winds. I was distraught, but 50 units from the local governments responded quickly. Fire trucks were racing to the scene and sirens were echoing through the canyons. A large plane flew over our house and dumped red fire retardant. I know there were two drops, but I think there were three. The lake was closed to anglers and tourists. Helicopters were dropping water collected from the lake onto the fire. Last night the wind lessened. The firefighters were able to stop the forward progress. A state unit and forest service unit are on scene to monitor the fire. Local units were sent home last night after a long day's fight. They saved the forest once again.

I hope today is without incident. The village is full of visitors.

Re: Mountain Excitement

rockygems123 — Sat, 24 Jun 2023 15:09:31 GMT

@On It That was scary but glad all ok.

Can't remember which mountain range you are near?

Your lake water bucket retrieval for the fire reminded me of the training helicopter drills across the street at Chatfield State Park which they do in the summer, haven't seen them yet.

Re: Mountain Excitement

Kachina624 — Sat, 24 Jun 2023 15:17:55 GMT

Goog grief! You may have to go on tranquilizers due to the excitement. I've been wondering if you're close to the latest fire.

Seeing that elk herd was a real treat. Did you think to take any pictures? Do you now have to clean up a bunch of elk poop? They are indeed magnificent animals. We had a herd mingle with stopped cars while in Yellowstone. Several were close enough to touch had I been unwise enough to roll down a window.

Try to have a calm day.

Re: Mountain Excitement

On It — Sat, 24 Jun 2023 15:19:36 GMT

@rockygems123 We are in the Sacramento Mountains in the Lincoln National Forest.

The lake here is in tight quarters between two steep hillsides. They could not pick up water until the state police cleared the site.

Re: Mountain Excitement

rockygems123 — Sat, 24 Jun 2023 15:21:56 GMT

@On It Must be a beautiful area. Sounds like great teamwork with great results.

Re: Mountain Excitement

SilleeMee — Sat, 24 Jun 2023 15:38:59 GMT

I'm looking at a fire/smoke map right now and I don't see a current fire burning in that area.

In fact, I don't see a water reservoir in Lincoln Natl Forest either.

ETA-

Oh wait, Curtis Canyon has a small reservoir.

Re: Mountain Excitement

On It — Sat, 24 Jun 2023 15:36:39 GMT

@Kachina624 It has been action-packed compared to the sleepy village we normally experience. My husband took some photos which I have not seen. I do not know how to post them, but my son will be visiting this summer and will teach me how.

I have not looked for poop. One female had her backside to the window and peed a big one. I could have reached out and taken a urine sample. We do not go outdoors when the elk are that close. I do not want to disturb them so they will stay as long as possible. I also do not want to agitate them. They are wild animals, so we do not approach.

We do not venture out on Saturday because it is when the village is at peak capacity. I am grateful to the firefighters for our not having any mandatory evacuations.

Re: Mountain Excitement

On It — Sat, 24 Jun 2023 15:43:38 GMT

@SilleeMee wrote:
I'm looking at a fire/smoke map right now and I don't see a current fire burning in that area.
In fact, I don't see a water reservoir in Lincoln Natl Forest either.

Here in the village we have two manmade small lakes. The one closet to the fire is the one they used. Both lakes are part of the village water supply.

Re: Mountain Excitement

Jk9 — Sat, 24 Jun 2023 15:59:21 GMT

Wow @On It two big adventures occurring! Thank goodness for the fire control. Seeing the elk walk through your yard is an amazing treat to have anytime during a lifetime. We get so excited to see flocks of wild turkeys! I live in rural upstate SC in the foothills.

Thank you for updating us and wishes for continued safety to you.

Re: Mountain Excitement

Estellee — Sat, 24 Jun 2023 16:00:54 GMT

That sounds scary, hope you and the Elks are doing ok too. I look out my front window I see iguanas running along the sidewalk, lol.

Re: Mountain Excitement

Kachina624 — Sat, 24 Jun 2023 16:11:11 GMT

@On It wrote:
@rockygems123 We are in the Sacramento Mountains in the Lincoln National Forest.

The lake here is in tight quarters between two steep hillsides. They could not pick up water until the state police cleared the site.

@On It Is that the lake at The Inn Of The Mountain Gods?

Re: Mountain Excitement

freakygirl — Sat, 24 Jun 2023 16:12:43 GMT

the elk migration - wow! that must've been a sight! i wish you had photos or a video! many of us will never experience something like that.

Re: Mountain Excitement

Estellee — Sat, 24 Jun 2023 16:22:18 GMT

I've never seen Elk in person but I have seen deer, just beautiful!

Re: Mountain Excitement

On It — Sat, 24 Jun 2023 16:22:38 GMT

@Kachina624 No, it is on the Mescalero Reservation and does not belong to the village. Mescalero sent firefighters. The helicopters used Alto Lake on the north side of the village.

They made a lot of things happen really fast. That lake is small and stocked with trout. All the anglers and tourists gathered around the banks of the lake had to be evacuated before the helicopters could collect water.

Re: Mountain Excitement

Kachina624 — Sat, 24 Jun 2023 16:24:18 GMT

@On It I think in your mind you've made picture posting a lot more complicated than it really is. It's remarkably simple, goes very fast. I wrote these instructions for another poster last week. Just try it and you'll be amazed at how easy it is. Holler at me if you have a problem.

To post a picture, you must have it in a file or album on your computer. Click on the place in your text portion where you want the picture to appear. Click on the landscape icon above (the square with the mountain). Select the file and then picture you want to post. Then click "insert image". It will download in the space you selected. Then click "Post". You can select the image to be small, medium or large.

Re: Mountain Excitement

On It — Sat, 24 Jun 2023 16:27:02 GMT

@freakygirl wrote:
the elk migration - wow! that must've been a sight! i wish you had photos or a video! many of us will never experience something like that.

My son will be here soon, I hope! He will help me post photos. I have wild horses, elk herds, a huge bull elk, and a great horned owl I want to post.

I am old and missed the technology train.

Re: Mountain Excitement

On It — Mon, 26 Jun 2023 18:56:00 GMT

@Estellee wrote:
I've never seen Elk in person but I have seen deer, just beautiful!

We have mule deer here. They are much smaller than elk. The calves that were born this summer are getting to be as large as a mule deer. I have a photo of an elk in the middle of our street. A car is stopped waiting for it to step aside so you can appreciate its size. I will try to post, but I have doubts. In any event, I will add that to my list of photos to post once help arrives.

Re: Mountain Excitement

Kachina624 — Sat, 24 Jun 2023 16:53:00 GMT

@On It wrote:
@freakygirl wrote:
the elk migration - wow! that must've been a sight! i wish you had photos or a video! many of us will never experience something like that.
My son will be here soon, I hope! He will help me post photos. I have wild horses, elk herds, a huge bull elk, and a great horned owl I want to post.

I am old and missed the technology train.

@On It You're a smart lady and could easily follow these simple steps. You don't need to be a computer guru. I'm completely self-taught and a heck of a lot older than you I bet. What have you got to lose by trying?

Outsiders often try to copy and paste images, which often doesn't work. That's why I wrote the steps.

Re: Mountain Excitement

On It — Sat, 24 Jun 2023 17:19:56 GMT

@Kachina624 I tried last year to post the horned owl photos. I made several attempts and did get the photo to appear in a space on the left side of this page. It would not post in the text area. The message said the photo was too large to post every time I tried. I did not know in which stage I needed to make it smaller.

Re: Mountain Excitement

Kachina624 — Sat, 24 Jun 2023 18:03:12 GMT

@On It When it says the picture is too large, its referring to the number of pixels, not the physical size. This happens when somebody tries to make the image sharper when editing in the camera. Best to return pic to its original state for posting purpises.

See the step where you click in the box where your message appears? That's where your image will appear....wherever you clicked. I usually go down about 2 spaces from the text.