Not all of my subjects have feathers. I’ll photograph any critter, especially when they’re as cute and appealing as these guys.
1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Back in April almost four years ago I took way too many photos of a family of Yellow-bellied Marmots in a fairly remote area of Box Elder County. The pups, there were several of them, were especially hard to resist. These two in particular found comfort in each other’s company so while I was there they were never very far from each other. Some of the other pups were noticeably more independent.
1/1000, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
These two mostly stuck like glue to each other, even when they were safely within the confines of of the rock pile that contained the entrance(s) to their burrow. Here the pup on the right held out its left paw to its sibling, who took the paw into ‘his’ mouth and appeared to gently nibble on it. It lasted long enough for me to get about a half dozen photos of the behavior.
1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
A couple of the pups seemed to be fascinated by this rusty old wire fence. This one was obviously trying to decide if it was worth his effort to try to climb it. He pondered the question for some time before deciding against it.
1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
This may or may not have been the same pup but he took it a little further, to the point that he very nearly pulled himself up the fence and off the rock he was standing on. Or maybe he was contemplating doing pullups by using the horizontal wire as a pullup bar. Whatever his thoughts, as far as I know his feet never left the rock.
If my plans hold up, tomorrow’s post also relates to fences – thanks to something I learned about them yesterday from Judy Gusick. Having grown up in Montana farming/ranching country I thought I was pretty knowledgeable about fences but what I learned yesterday was both new to me and fascinating.
Between Judy and me we’ll provide more evidence that one should never underestimate the ingenuity of rural folks living in remote areas.
Ron
Smiles all around for these cuties!
Love these photos! Especially the last where he appears to be gritting his teeth as he contemplates the expenditure of energy in order to perform a marmot pup pullup. And those cute little armpits….awww!!!
Thank you, Fran. I fixed your “oops”.
I’ll add my squee to Arwen’s. The “you may kiss my ring” shot is too good for words. Thanks for some giggles and d’awwws today.
“you may kiss my ring” shot” – wish I’d thought of that, Marty.
Ahhh…really LOVED this post today ❣️ In Yosemite national park, at he Olmsted Point turn off, you can see these yellow bellied Marmots cavorting all over the huge granite boulders…lovely to watch ❣️❣️
Thanks, Carolyn.
Cuteness on steroids…feeling sad this morning…until this post…and the burrowing owls…love them all..
I’m glad this post helped, Patty. And I hope things improve for you.
OMG SQUEEEEEEE!!! THEY’RE SO FLUFFFFFY!!!!
Ahem.
I did enjoy these marmoset pups. 😀
And I did enjoy your change of uh… enthusiasm, Arwen!
Marmots are so darned cute, adults and pups alike! Love these non-feathered photos today, and look forward to fence photos and fun tomorrow. (Apologies: Alliteration sometimes just grabs me and I can’t help myself.) 😬
I enjoy alliteration, Chris – particularly when different letters still sound the same, as in your example.
Heart melters. And add me to those who are looking forward to having today’s mystery solved.
I didn’t mean to leave you or anyone else hanging, EC. I just wanted to provide a heads up for anyone interested in novel uses of fences.
Well, to be honest I guess it was a bit of a teaser…
The wonderful thing about pursuing any pastime in Nature is we have so many opportunities to observe fascinating moments such as these.
We are fortunate to have a master artist and narrator provide us with richly illustrated reports from the scene.
Marmots and coffee. The New Year is already Happy.
“… his feet never left the rock …” — My kind of pullup!
It’s my kind of pullup too, Wally. These days just thinking about doing them makes my arms ache.
Charming! Heart warming.
Thank you, for having such good eye.
Take Care,
Kaye
Thank you, Kay.
Well, these photos sure do pull at the heartstrings (whatever heartstrings are).
There was a Hoary Marmot that could occasionally be seen sunning on a rock by the trailside on one of the hikes in the North Cascades. Wasn’t fazed by people trekking by. Like these Yellow-bellied pups, adults are big but still cute as the dickens (whatever dickens are).
Great comment! Good point about the source of our idioms being lost over time.
Lyle, here’s a little edification:
*Heartstring – “obsolete : a nerve once believed to sustain the heart”
*…as the dickens – “This phrase has nothing to do with Charles Dickens. Dickens is a euphemism, specifically a minced-oath, for the word devil, possibly via devilkins. Shakespeare used ‘dickens’ in ‘the Merry Wives of Windsor, 1600:
And yes, I had to look them up.
Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle.
You’re incorrigible…
This is why I ALWAYS read back over the previous day’s comments, I can always count on at least a couple of LOLs! Usually from Marty & Lyle, of course …
😂😂😂
Between 2008 and 2010 we had a cabin in Torrey adjacent to the beautiful Star Ranch, a working ranch set in one of the most stunning landscapes on the planet. The ranch hands, while very protective of the property and horses, would tolerate me walking the circumference of the ranch daily. Every spring I would sit for hours and watch the yellow-bellied marmot families play. They could entertain me for hours with their antics and obvious joy for life and one another. Thank you for reminding me of those peaceful mornings watching, “how everything adores being alive” to paraphrase Mary Oliver.
Those mornings must have been fun and very rewarding for you, Cathryn. I’m extremely fond of the Torrey area myself.
The little hands are very dexterous.
Yep, they are.
I found a marmot pup at work. He fit in my hand he was so small. I rescued Rocky Balboa and he is a awesome companion during social isolation. He is in Torper or semi hibernation in his kennel under the house in the crawl space. I wish I could attach a pic somehow. I’ve varmit hunted and I just couldn’t even think about shooting them for sport now.
I know how you feel, Steven. I used to regularly shoot ‘gophers’ (Richardson’s Ground Squirrels) on the farm when I was a kid. No more gopher “hunting” for me.
Lived the “toe nibbling” shot–and my, don’t they have VERY LONG toes
to nibble ! Front and back paws look almost like primate hands…..very
appealing little guys …….
Kris, I noticed that similarity to primate hands too.
Adorable. Babies and toddlers of most any species are almost guaranteed smile makers.
Thanks, Granny Pat.
A pair of welcome non-feathered subjects. I guess all pups of all kinds are cute and these two are no exception. Can’t get much cuter than this. The experimenting with the fence photos are really neat. Thanks for posting.
And yes – looking forward to fences tomorrow presented by you and Judy.
“all pups of all kinds are cute and these two are no exception”
Everett, I’ll put my neck on the chopping block and admit publicly that I think, if there is an exception, it is often human babies. If you ask me, many of them are far from cute, though of course they’re still adorable.
In a Seinfeld episode the gang visit friends who just had a baby – and recoil with horror at its non cuteness.
“Non cuteness”, “far from cute” – I see we both avoided the word “ugly”… 🙂
Excellent point. The Seinfeld gang are not so inhibited.
Baby mammals of all types are really adorable! What’re not so cute are baby snakes and baby sharks. I’ve never been prone to cooing over those two types.
They are adorable!
Thanks, Kathy.
The Marmot pups are delightful as are the young of most species. Like any “family”, including humans, all the young are a bit different assuring the survival of the species methinks. 🙂
Tomorrow will be interesting and fun, I’m sure! 😉
“Tomorrow will be interesting and fun, I’m sure!”
I hope so, Judy. Thanks in part to you.
Cute! all mammals have their own measure of confidence, including humans. Can hardly wait for tomorrow’s informative post!
Thanks, Terri. I hope it’s worth the wait.