October 25 -- The Wild Burros of Aberdeen

I knew that the forecast said it was going to be windy today, so I decided to stay in the Owens Valley and not venture too far from Bishop. While at the RV park office, paying the electricity for my month's stay and for another staying another week -- I'll be leaving Bishop for Overton, Nevada on November 1 -- I ran into Dan and Bev Fenske. I'd made their acquaintance earlier in the week when I found out that they're veteran Peregrine Falcon watchers -- and Dan is a falconer with his own Peregine named "Baaz", a 6-year-old bird. And they know about the Point Fermin Peregrine Falcons through a mutual acquaintance, Jeff Sipple. SMALL world... Anyway, when I mentioned I'd be heading south on Hwy 395 to check out Klondike Lake, Dan said to be sure to go to the tiny "burg" of Aberdeen; there is a group of wild burros there. And be sure to bring long carrots (otherwise they might eat up your arm), preferably with the green heads still on them. Intrigued, I set off south down Hwy 395; the morning was partly-cloudy with a bit of wind, but the cottonwoods were turning yellow; here's the scene as I entered the town of Big Pine, with the Sierra as a backdrop --

The first place I wanted to check was the rest area between Independence and Big Pine; it has a cottonwood tree that should be turning yellow about this time, and with the Sierra chasm of Sawmill Canyon as a backdrop, it's a place I've photographed over the years. I stopped by and, though the cottonwood wasn't totally yellow/golden, it still made for a nice photo -- 

On to Aberdeen, where at first I didn't see any burros. I drove as far as Goodale Creek Campground, where the rabbitbrush were in bloom with intense yellows, and the Sierra was "doing its thing" with the clouds --

I drove down a paved road paralleling Hwy 395 out of Aberdeen, checking the sagebrush- and rabbitbrush-dotted land for any sign of burros -- and finally saw what looked to be about 10 of them, but far in from the road. I got out of Tundra and waved in their direction -- Dan said they'll come right up to you if they know you're there -- but of course I was too far away, and I probably looked ridiculous, waving my arms about. So I went back on the road to Abderdeen from Hwy 395 and took a dirt road in the direction I saw the burros. NOW we're getting somewhere...Eventually I came to this gate -- 

Behind the open gate (don't worry, I obeyed the sign and closed it) is probably the corral for the burros. (By the way, burros and donkeys are the same; burros are small donkeys. Mules and burros are related, but they're not the same animals. Burros are " Equus asinus" otherwise known as "ass" --time here for a well-worn joke). I saw them off to the left about a mile after going through another gate with an identical sign. I got out of the truck, took out full-sized carrots (alas, no green heads) I'd just bought at the Bishop Von's market -- and as soon as they noticed me, they quite literally "sauntered" (as in leisurely, without hurry or effort) over; here's the first to do its sauntering --  

Well, soon the whole group of 10 were surrounding Tundra and me, and the 10 carrots I had vanished in a minute. They were friendly, that's for sure, and though they were all around me, I never felt threatened --

I finally left, driving further down the road, gently nudging them out of the way as they seemed to be in no hurry to leave. But I had to go back down the way I came, so when I turned around they were still in the road, and looking through my windshield they looked like bandits out of a Clint Eastwood spaghetti western, waiting for me -- cue the theme music from "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly" -- 

The reddish-rust colored fellow seemed to be the leader as he was always the first to come towards me while the others held back -- 

But, like nudging cattle out of the way when you're in the middle of a cattle drive, I gently proceeded down the road, leaving them securely locked behind their gate -- and vowed to return again before I left the Owens Valley, this time with at least 20 carrots...Meanwhile, the wind was picking up, creating "dust devils". Even a Loggerhead Shrike was having a tough time staying on his perch --  

(I got this shot with my 500 f/4 lens; its clarity and sharpness, especially at this distance of over 100 feet, is such that I'll be using it as my "bird lens" when I go on day hikes, carrying it like a sword, on a mountaineer's strap over my neck and shoulder, held into place by the lens' huge tripod collar.) Though I did see some of the Tule Elk as I was at Fish Springs Road by this time, there were just a few, and they were laying down in the tall grass. A Fish and Wildlife warden stopped by just after I took this photo was asked what I was doing there; he was checking to see that I wasn't some "trigger-happy" hunter salivating over the Tule bull elk and his mates. I showed him my Canon 500 f/5 and he was suitably impressed and I gave him the stock line, saying I had a Canon, not a gun... :o) The rest of the day was windy, so after a check up to Aspendell to see if any fall colors remained -- they did, but were being torn from their branches by the wind -- I came back to the RV park. And today, with the weather supposed to be in the low 60s in the mountains with little or no wind, it's time for another day hike...