Mountain Goats (and other critters) at Whitewater

[zippetydude]

A group of curious mountain goats posed for me today!

DSCN0285 by zippetydude, on Flickr

Zoomed in a little bit...

DSCN0284 by zippetydude, on Flickr

Mom and baby, baby a little skittish at first...

DSCN0281 by zippetydude, on Flickr

The whole family...

DSCN0279 by zippetydude, on Flickr

Better still, but not everybody is smiling...

DSCN0277 by zippetydude, on Flickr

Still a little Stoic, dad!

DSCN0275 by zippetydude, on Flickr

Ah Hah! There's the money shot!

DSCN0276 by zippetydude, on Flickr

A different goat this time..."Who are you and why do you keep making that clicking sound?"

DSCN0267 by zippetydude, on Flickr

I'm not sure I'm comfortable with this...

DSCN0266 by zippetydude, on Flickr

Guess I'll just have to come down there and teach you a lesson!...

DSCN0256 by zippetydude, on Flickr

A vain goat...Does this angle make me look fat?

DSCN0239 by zippetydude, on Flickr

How about this instead?

DSCN0253 by zippetydude, on Flickr

Yes, I ate the entire spear coming up out of that bush and most of the surrounding vegetation, but it doesn't show! Look how flat my tummy looks!

DSCN0252 by zippetydude, on Flickr






Okay, time for a change of subject. How about some mutant lightning bugs instead of goats? It's spring, so it's time for romance. But I see only a lonely bug...






DSCN0214 by zippetydude, on Flickr

Come to me my love! My arms are open wide for you!

DSCN0219 by zippetydude, on Flickr

"Shhh, be very quiet my love! We don't want the neighbors to see!" (Notice how all private areas were discreetly covered by the camera angle)

DSCN0215 by zippetydude, on Flickr

Nonetheless, I'm afraid I offended the fellow. "What is this, you nasty cameraman?! You have been taking pictures! This face is the last thing you will ever see! I will tear you lens from lens!

DSCN0225 by zippetydude, on Flickr

Hope you enjoyed!

z

[Hikin_Jim]

Photos (and commentary) most amusing, Mr. Zip. Uh, you do know that those were Bighorn Sheep, right? And those I believe are all females based on the size and shape of their horns.

HJ

[Ellen]

Howdy Z-Dude

I am SO envious of your big horn and little horn sighting

Sister Sally, have you seen Z-dude's post? If so, like me, you're probably gnashing your teeth in frustration at missing the encounter

Thanks for the pictures and commentary Z

Miles of smiles,
Ellen

[Sally]

Yes, Ellen, much gnashing of teeth going on here! Zip, you crack me up! And yes, I enjoyed! Being as this is a family forum, I am glad that the lightnin' bugs' photos showed mostly enlarged sand! Zip, I hope you were being cautious...wild critters can be unpredictable and ferocious...especially lightnin' bugs!

[Hikin_Jim]

Being as this is a family forum, I am glad that the lightnin' bugs' photos showed mostly enlarged sand! Zip, I hope you were being cautious...wild critters can be unpredictable and ferocious...especially lightnin' bugs!

Whoo! Is it getting hot in here?

HJ

[tekewin]

Just pure awesomeness in those photos. You must have some high end gear and skill. Thanks for posting them.

It looks like there are chunks of fur missing and scratches in some places on those sheep. I wonder if the cause was rocks, brush, or feline.

[zippetydude]

Hi tekewin. Thanks for the kind words, but no high end gear or skill was involved. Just using my point-and-shoot little Nikon P610. I'm always singing its praises - you can see why. It makes trips more fun because I get to come home with great shots of great encounters, and it's small enough and light enough that I almost always have it with me. BTW, even if I sound like it I don't work for Nikon!

z

[tekewin]

That Nikon P610 has a 60x zoom! Lots of other high end features, too. Wow, I am very tempted, but I usually buy hiking related stuff with the expectation that I am going to break it within a year. I am pretty rough on gear. Anyway, keep posting those great photos.

[Hikin_Jim]

Hi tekewin. Thanks for the kind words, but no high end gear or skill was involved. Just using my point-and-shoot little Nikon P610. I'm always singing its praises - you can see why. It makes trips more fun because I get to come home with great shots of great encounters, and it's small enough and light enough that I almost always have it with me. BTW, even if I sound like it I don't work for Nikon!

Oh, sure, Zip. Not an employee of Nikon? Right. What are you going to tell us next? That you're a teacher? C'mon, Zip, nobody is going to buy that.

HJ

[zippetydude]

I usually buy hiking related stuff with the expectation that I am going to break it within a year.

Wow tekewin! I didn't realize that you were such a violent hiker! Either that or you have been asking Ellen to carry your gear...

Hi HJ. Caught me red handed! BTW, while I don't like carrying much gear, you might be tempted to get the new Nikon P900. In reviews I've seen, it's 83x zoom (!) is purportedly almost equivalent in performance to a $28,000 standard DSLR with a comparable zoom with a traditional lens. It's about twice as heavy as my camera, but if you skip some of the 10,000 essentials you could probably squeeze it in!

z