How much fun...

...can you have in a cattle grate? Well, if you ask this long-tailed weasel, the answer would be a whole lotta fun!

I encountered this weasel while approaching a cattle grate crossing, and it really put on a show for me while it bounded between the slats, dropping in one area and popping up somewhere else. If you've ever seen river otters playing in a zoo, this it totally what it looked like. This guy was really playful, and seemed only to move in fast-motion -- that is, until it became curious about my car. It cautiously crept towards the vehicle (which I was standing a bit away from) and then would bolt back to the safety of the grate before creeping a little bit closer the next time. Eventually it was brave enough to approach, and was sure to inspect all of the tires and the tail pipe.

Checking out the area behind the tires:

Soon enough though, it realized that a car isn't all that interesting when compared to a cattle grate, and it bounded back to its playground.

Long-tailed weasel, Point Reyes National Seashore

I’ve come to appreciate the fact that not everyone finds wildlife encounters to be as truly thrilling as I do. After a relatively boring hike out to Abbott’s Lagoon (in terms of photographic opportunities), I was fairly resigned to be out of chances to make an interesting image for the day. However, my ever constant scan for wildlife came up with a huge score when I saw this adorable mustelid standing tall in the pasture along the trail. I was stoked! The long-tailed weasel is an animal that I’ve wanted a chance to see for a while, but I figured that it wasn't likely to ever happen.



We saw him take a few leaps and chases at something, although he never came up with a snack. It was fun to watch him disappear down one gopher hole and then have to scan the area to see where he would pop up next.



While the pictures themselves aren’t anything special (harsh midday light and cropped significantly), crossing a new wildlife species off of my list is always fantastic, and I was excited to tell anyone about it when we got back. Alas, the odd looks on the faces of the people I told reassured me that it takes a, umm, *special* kind of person to get so excited about encountering a weasel.

Now that I’ve got that one off the list, here’s to hoping a get a chance at a badger!