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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Outdoors blog

Sunday outdoors was wildlife Rich

Slavin Conservation Area south of Spokane. (Rich Landers)
Slavin Conservation Area south of Spokane. (Rich Landers)

WILDLIFE -- My day has been crawling with wildlife.

6 a.m.: Going out to get the newspaper, I see a robin chick has just broken out of its egg in the nest behind the house. Naked pink and squirming with a little shell still on its shoulder.  It's only 43 degrees.

8 a.m.: While running the dogs near Airway Heights, my young English setter locked on point and then looked back at me as if to seek advice. He was 20 yards from a pack of milk chocolate brown fur-ball coyote pups just big enough to run away through the tall grass.  We went the other direction.

5 p.m.  I'm back from a waterfowl viewing trek through the Slavin Conservation Area wetlands south of Spokane. Turns out my wife and I and the two dogs brought some wildlife home with us.

A quick comb and brush job on the dogs fetched at least 20 ticks.

Meredith and I have each plucked a couple off ourselves. I found one crawling up the bathroom wall.  I think I flicked one off accidentally into the wild turkey and Thai stir-fry I prepared for dinner.

I'm thinking we'll open a nice bottle of Merlot for the final tick check of the day.



Rich Landers
Rich Landers joined The Spokesman-Review in 1977. He is the Outdoors editor for the Sports Department writing and photographing stories about hiking, hunting, fishing, boating, conservation, nature and wildlife and related topics.

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