animal sightings galore

so Nikki & I started watching out for wildlife on our trip starting in KS when we saw an owl fly over our car late the first night. We saw: some deer including a couple many point bucks, a stray dog along the desolate highway, three owls, a couple hawks, a couple falcons. A coyote in my parents back yard as well as a fawn (not at the same time). a couple condors. many blackbirds and a red-winged blackbird. A chicken hawk (yes, it was circling) & some chickens & a rooster. A porcupine. a beaver. a quail. a woodchuck (AKA groundhog). a fox. peepers. minnows. hummingbirds. baby cows carrying on. zoo animals -did I tell you about the polar bear exhibit that enables one to walk threw a glass tunnel with the bear swimming overhead? Very cool. What else? ducks. pigeons. huge carp. lesser exotic stuff like horses & cows, cats & dogs. (Snick has the official list; I'll have to consult with her about the depth of my list here)

The most outstanding thing I noticed was the sound of wind in the trees -& nothing else- at my parents's house. I never realized how very noisy it is at our house in Denver until our first morning back & I woke to the sound of traffic & other "city" sounds. It made me sad & a little homesick to think that we tell ourselves the quality of life is so much better here because we have so many more "opportunites" -cultural & otherwise. Really? What about the added quality of life when one grows up living closer to nature rather than closer to one's next door neighbor. You know it's a worthwhile trip when Fi tells Nikki "this is a really good vacation". An astute observation from a 4 year old. I only wish we could do it more often. Or rather that we too could live a little farther out of the city. (bet my parents never thought they'd read those words.) Then again, it has always been my wish to live closer to the mountains here. Remember when I graduated from CU & I had to look for new housing for Nikki, Maddie & me? We looked first in Ned. Thought about Rollinsville. Considered a remodeled old schoolhouse b/t Boulder & Longmont. Settled on Longmont at the very edge of town. I forget how much I need more space, more nature to feed my soul -it never hits me until I've been there & then return to the 'burbs. Gah. The noise alone is enough to stifle my cries for freedom. The best we can do for wildlife is an occasional fox & assorted woodpeckers, crows, robins, starlings. Next summer can't come soon enough...I'm already jonesing.