Too busy for detailed daily reports lately, so I’ll summarize the past few days. Deer fawns are growing fast, as is the golden eaglet on the canyon nest. The wildflowers are in full bloom, and all of the meadows are blanketed with vivid color. I’ve been seeing a pair of great horned owls, presumably fledglings, at the Sharptail Ridge trailhead nearly every night on my way home. A couple of sporadic bear sightings in the past couple of days, but for the most part bear action has slowed down for now – I’m betting it will pick back up once the berries start appearing on the bushes. Spotted a couple of bull elk at dusk on Friday at the south end of the Fountain Valley, never seen elk there before so that was a rare treat for me. Speaking of rare treats, a lion took down a mule deer doe very near the road on the 4th, and after waiting until dusk, a handful of die-hards were able to see the cougar make his way down to the carcass. No shots to speak of due to the fading light, but still very cool to watch – my third mountain lion sighting this summer! Dan reported that the lion wasn’t seen again on Monday, but a red fox enjoyed some of the deer during the day and a big black bear came down to the carcass and fed at sunset. There seems to be a good portion of meat left, so there could be more of this story still unfolding on Tuesday.