Not So Very Wild

We recently spent three weeks rafting in Idaho and were very excited about seeing such an abundance of wildlife. 

On the first part of the trip, the Middle Fork, we witnessed the regeneration of the forest after a devastating fire two years ago.

Some of the motley crew on the first morning.

 

And osprey find the dead trees a perfect perch.

A tired and ragged butterfly catches a brief ride on the raft.

Of course, I took my paints, but the wildlife doesn't pose for paintings, so I will share a few photos...

This little bee was very friendly, the wasps...NOT SO MUCH!

I was stung twice while sitting and painting.  Everyone else on the trip was stung as well.  Fortunately there was no need of the many epi-pens that we carried with us.

The butterflies were fascinated by the bright colors of my paint box.

And a different one by the salt on my ankle.

 

And who knows what I had spilled on the arm of my chair, but both the butterflies and the bees visited this spot multiple times.

 Here is what I was painting in the journal I kept during the trip...

And the subject of the painting. This cabin was built by a homesteader who also worked for the forest service. 

This little doe was very bold and came right into camp to check us out.  

Sometime in the night either she or her much abused sister thoroughly chewed a sweaty river shirt which one of my fellow campers who had left it hanging on a tree outside his tent.  Every critter seemed to need salt!

The homesteader had planted many apple, cherry, apricot and peach trees and when he died he left the property to the Forest service with the provision that that they should maintain the many irrigation ditches he had dug and lined with rocks. The deer (and rafters too) enjoy this little oasis.  All of the fruit trees where well pruned up to the level that the deer could reach!

Grabbing an apple.  Sorry about the blur!  No time to change to a different shutter speed!

Leaving this little Eden of cultivated land which could only be reached by boat we traveled on down the the Salmon River.

My hat made a resting place for the dragonflies that were hunting over the river.

Proud to carry a dragonfly!

Geese ignore our passage.

A raptor is not so complacent...hawk?  eagle?

What does Peter see just behind that large dark rock?

Male and female bighorns!

Having checked us out, they bring their babies into camp...

The wildest thing we encountered was a great big dog another rafting group brought with them.  He rudely terrorized these little ones.  He thought it was all in fun, but they definitely did NOT!