Some of the Hwy 12 Idaho animals

While driving on and near Hwy 12 that goes from Livingston Idaho to Lolo, Montana we saw some of the regular creatures and an occasional rare one.

        Hawks and other birds of prey are of special interest to Donna and I...especially the abundant "red-tails".

Beautiful plumage underneath.

The happy couple sitting in a tree. In less than 5 miles we came upon no fewer than 20 hawks. Most were red-tails but some red-shouldered, coopers or ferruginous hawks.

Aah...how could you? Yeah I'm a closet treehugger but a realist at the same time. I understand our need for meat, but being in central Idaho for a month will be a test for me. Central Idaho is ground zero for killing wolves which I am very much against.

These domesticated animals startled us when we parked down a dirt road  to let the dogs out. We were startled by rustling of leaves and breaking of branches, then the sounds of Swiss bells that hung around their necks greeted us.

The rare encounter for us was this badger...for some reason I thought he was young. He was waddling on the side of the road than posed for me before drifting back into the forest.