Melissa Crytzer Fry

A golden-furred coyote with liquid-gold eyes looks directly into the camera while it stands in a dry desert wash.

Gorgeous #coyote on #trailcam. Good to see them looking so healthy.

Thanks, Janet. And to you and the boys! I'm off to do beaver surveys this morning (and we had a fun capture on cam last night). Gonna be a GREAT day!

Camera trap view of a bobcat.

I had the pleasure of meeting fellow bobcat camera trap enthusiast @crytzerfry.bsky.social in person today and hear about her beloved Galiuro Mountains. I think her bobcat vibes summoned this visitor to our water station today.

My cat, Squeezy, lies on top of my lap, belly up - quite content to ride in the RV, while my hand rests on his tummy. He has black stripey and spotted paws.

Since he was a kitten, Squeezy has been in this hiking backpack. To keep him safe during truck rides (to acclimate him to vehicle travel so that vet visits won't be horrendous), he stays in it - attached to the headrest and seatbelt, while we drive.

It's #Caturday again! Squeezy is a traveling man. Rode up to Phoenix in the RV and took a ride in the truck with me around our rural town.

Nice!

OOOH. This is great news, Mark. Such a gorgeous cat. Had so much fun meeting and learning more about you and your work. SO appreciate your support. Next step: getting you to the Galiuros!

Where are you, Dawn?

I blew the pic up and think you're def right. Ears are too short/tail too short, but that's a BIG cottontail!

You might be right. Though our antelope jacks seem to have gray tails on top (we have both). Either way: a healthy meal - and a good-sized bun/hare.

Bobcat captured in lower right of the cam, white underside of tail showing, and two ears sticking from left side of its mouth. Closer inspection shows a rabbit draped out the right side of the mouth.

This shot, where the cat has advanced away from the camera, illustrates very long legs/body of what is probably a jackrabbit in the cat's jaws. Poor bun. But kitty's gotta eat, too.

It's #FelidFriday, and this #bobcat caught quite the prize. Appears to be a #jackrabbit, given sheer size and rabbit-leg length.

They really are fantastic!

A very lean lion heads down the hill in a black and white image.

A mama javelina heads to the left of the photo, while, in front of her, a little red faces the other direction, in profile. As a young javelina, its coat still sports red fur.

A coatimundi walks through fallen leaves in a drainage basin, its russet-and-striped, semi-prehensile tail backlit with sunshine, sticking up in the air.

To the far right, a black vulture lands in a Sky Island creek still lush with green grass. We don't see this kind of vulture here often.

The Galiuro Mountains are home to one of the most biodiverse areas in the southwest - yes, another Sky Island north of Tucson (threatened by #mining).

Caught on #trailcam: a very lean #mountainlion, #javelina family, #coatimundi, and black #vulture.

OMG... I'm laughing and should not be (because I really love the javvies).

😆

And they look quite healthy this year!

Oh, I gave up on human brains long, long ago. I hear you.

A coyote walks toward the camera, down a sandy wash. In its mouth is a now-hairless head, with a giant, saber-like tooth sticking out (which can only be a javelina).

I continue to think the #coyotes are finding a local #mountainlion's cache. This appears to be a #javelina head in its mouth (remember the pair of deer legs last month?)

Caught on #cameratrap.

Someone is making this a habit! 😂 Gray #fox on #cameratrap.

Leaves changing on the trees in the creek bed while saguaros stand watch.

Canyon walls rising high.

Highlighter-colored leaves reflect off of the creek.

A tall tree between canyon walls reflects in a pool below.

The canyon, low sun, and changing leaves provided lots of interesting lighting today 🍁🍂 🌄

#landscape
#photography
#Arizona
#desert

A group of five mule deer does crowd near the camera. Two are intently looking right of the pic, up on to the hill. They sport some very mule-like ears, hence the name!

Apparently, there was a mule #deer convention in the wash at our place! Caught on #cameratrap.

Foreground: a tall saguaro looking out on rolling green foothills and a red-tinged butte. Above it all: puffy white clouds with gray undersides and a rosy, muted sky.

I cannot get enough of these sunrises and sunsets. #SonoranDesert

The Galiuro Mountains, just north of Tucson - a Sky Island of the Madrean Archipelago

No worries. I was just curious! She's gorgeous.

Sorry. They have "F" for Familial designations based on how far down the lineage they are from original Asian Leopard Cats + domestic tabby. An F1 is a just that: ALC + tabby. An F2 would be an F1 bred with a domestic tabby, so on and so forth. The lower the number, the more wild they are.

She's a perfect cross between our female (gray/silver/tawny/red) and our boy (all red). I miss them both, still...

But she's a Bengal, right?

Yep. But we're lucky that - for some reason- he doesn't use claws when playing with us.

It is SPOT ON! 😀

I am so smitten with this guy.

ADORABLE.

😂

Great shots!