Month: June 2025

In the movie “UP,” one of my favorite recurring scenes is when someone shouts “squirrels!” and all the dogs go crazy moving in every direction hoping a squirrel is nearby. Most dogs who like squirrels would not be disappointed if they visited Rocky Mountain National Park. If I do not see any animals on my forays into the park, I always see at least one squirrel. Even in the quiet of winter, I can count on seeing squirrels in the park.

In the summer, four types of squirrels thrive: pine squirrels, Wyoming ground squirrels, golden mantle ground squirrels, and Abert’s squirrels.

Pine squirrels are common. These small rodents live in coniferous forests with pine, fir, and spruce trees. I often hear their chatter if I unknowingly get too close to their storehouses. Their tail helps them balance and provides warmth when they wrap it around their bodies in chilly weather. 

Wyoming ground squirrels exist at the low altitudes of the park. Most Estes Park residents do NOT like them and wish they would just stay in the park. They burrow into the ground and look like prairie dogs except that they hibernate underground in the winter.

Golden mantel squirrels often are mistaken for chipmunks although they are larger and do not have stripes on their faces. They live primarily in rocky places in mid-elevations of the park. They also spend most of the winter in hibernation.

Abert’s squirrels are the most beautiful. They are black with tufted ears. They inhabit ponderosa pines in the montane areas. I see them least often among these squirrels and delight most in their unique black appearance, especially if contrasted against winter snow.

Squirrels eat seeds, nuts, and cones. They can also eat fungi, berries, and sometimes insects. One reason I see them so often in the park is that the Pine and Abert squirrels are active year around both during the daytime and at dawn and dusk.

Everywhere I have lived has had squirrels of varying species. I thought they were all brown like in Iowa until I saw the gray ones in North Carolina. Squirrels are not one of those animals that excite people when they are seen. The sightings of Bullwinkle the Moose get more attention than Rocky the Squirrel. Nevertheless, these small mammals are a part of this diverse ecosystem, and I can count on seeing them on every hike. Their contributions are underrated in this vibrant landscape.

“…and she’ll have fun, fun, fun till daddy takes the t-bird away.” That song has been running through my head ever since the recent death of Beach Boys founder, Brian Wilson. The Beach Boys certainly remind me of life in the 1960’s when I was in high school and cars were a big deal in my rural community.

Getting my driver’s license was the most important rite of passage in my life (closely rivaled by getting my National Park Lifetime Pass!) I was one of the youngest kids in my class so most had their licenses before me. I learned how to drive years before and often drove my dad’s pick-up truck when we were doing work on the farm. Having that license and my parents buying a second car for me to use to go to basketball practice and other school events was monumental for me as a 16-year-old. I loved that 1960 2-door International Scout that I used. Limits were placed on where I could drive and I had to cart my sisters around from time to time, but having the license and a car had made for a massive world of freedom.

Most young people remember their first car(s). In my second year in college, my folks purchased a used car for me to drive back and forth from Iowa State. When I graduated, they sold me that 1966 blue 4-door Nash Rambler and it was mine. Once I got my first job and saved money, I bought my first real car—a sporty bright red Dodge Challenger that cost $2000. My parents always bought used cars, so I thought I was cool having a fancy NEW car.

I planned to buy a new car every two years since I thought that was the sign of status. My values changed, however, after spending 6 months in a developing country, Türkiye in 1974. I altered my priorities as I recognized that new cars were not the most important thing in the world. Being joyful with what one needs is more important than fulfilling “wants.” Since 1976, I have owned only five new cars. Buying one every 12-15 years is enough for me.

I love my 2012 Subaru Impreza Sport but was thinking about a new car this year. Having bells and whistles (i.e., safety features) of back-up cameras, lane centering, and pre-collision braking would make me a better driver. Although I get decent gas mileage with my Subi, a hybrid would be a conscious environmental investment. However, a new car is not appealing now. I’ll continue to have “fun, fun, fun” with the car that I need, and hope that I am a safer driver than 60 years ago.

In Africa, tourists yearn to see the Big 5: African Elephants, Cape Buffalos, Leopards, Lions, and Rhinoceros. I was lucky enough to see them on a wildlife tour in Krueger National Park several years ago. People coming to Rocky Mountain National Park are often most interested in the big animals including Bighorn Sheep, Moose, and Elk. I love seeing them too.

Sometimes it feels like folks are checking these big ones “off their list.” In my travels as well as in Rocky, I have also become excited about other animals including dozens of birds as well as the flora that covers the landscape. Seeing big game is fun, but ecologically the little critters and the small plants enable those big mammals to exist.

Small is beautiful. Spring is the time of babies. Goslings follow their vigilant parents around at Sheep Lakes. Marmot adolescents make their appearances in rocky spaces along Trail Ridge Road. Female elk are forming nurseries to protect their young ones. All sizes of ground squirrels scurry everywhere. I never get tired of seeing babies as I say a silent prayer for their good long lives.

Spring is also the time of tiny wildflowers. As the days lengthen, larger flowers emerge easier to see and add to the diversity of the land.

One of my hiking friends, Susan, has helped me to see the uncelebrated smaller aspects of the natural world—butterflies, bees, mosses, slime molds, and birds. I do not know the names but am recognizing their importance in creating a kind landscape.

I just finished reading an interesting book, Raising Hare, which was recommended to me by another Susan that I know. This memoir is about a young British woman who co-exists with a rabbit in her home during the pandemic. She does not give the hare a name and lets it roam free in and out of her house. Over time, the rabbit teaches her to slow down and observe nature all around her. The book is a plea for people to be gentler with all creatures by granting them room to live. The author, Chole Dalton, emphasizes that “Coexistence gives our own existence greater poignancy, and perhaps even grandeur.”

I value fauna and flora in my life. I am blessed to co-exist with the big things as well as the small.

“Do dogs go to heaven?” I remember asking my mom when I was about six years old and the first dog I ever knew, Tippy, was run over by a car. Tippy was a German Shepard/Collie mix with a white tip on his tail. I didn’t understand death but knew he was no longer around. I don’t remember my mom’s response, but it made me think that our dog was in a happy place.

I am now grieving from the unexpected passing of my dear brown tabby soul cat, Mog. The story of a Rainbow Bridge eases some anguish. This metaphor gives me, as well as others, a form of heaven and comfort for pets who have left this physical world.

The notion describes a bridge connecting Heaven and Earth– the Rainbow Bridge because of its many colors. On the earth side of the bridge is a land of meadows, hills, and valleys with lush green grass. When a beloved pet such as Tippy or Mog dies, the pet goes to this place. There is abundant food and treats. Frail animals become young again. The animals play all day together.

Something is missing, however, at the Rainbow Bridge. They do not have the special people who loved them on earth. They run and play until one suddenly stops and looks up. This pet runs from the group and sees his/her special friend and they meet again. They cuddle and kiss again and again. Together the person and the pet cross the Rainbow Bridge together to heaven, never again separated.

The idea of the Rainbow Bridge makes me smile as I think about Mog being happy and patiently waiting for me as she had done every day in our home for the past 15 years. I don’t think the idea of the Rainbow Bridge existed 70 years ago, but it now represents heaven to me.

I know Mog is waiting for me as are the other animals I have loved over the years. My dad passed 11 years ago this summer, and I am confident that Tippy is now with him and they crossed over that Rainbow Bridge together. Someday I will be reunited with my dear friend Mog.