Valley Clouds, Valley Animals.

A pre-work ride to acquire cell phone service takes me up through dense, soaking clouds and into the sun, just me and a few Berkshire hilltops:

Gotta call the boss, ya know. It’s rough work, but somebody’s got to do it.   😉

And hey, there’s a fox!  Skanky looking specimen; probably has distemper:

…or perhaps even rabies.  It watches me from ten feet away before approaching me with a fixed gaze.

I roll up the window and wish it well as I head down the long hill in low gear.

Then I’m back down through the soup to the Deerfield river, the location of today’s job:

I love this place.  It’s like this a lot through the warm season, and usually burns off to reveal a summer-blue sky while remaining ten degrees cooler than the nearest big towns.

And being “the Deerfield river,” who should be crossing it while I watch but two deer:

Certainly not a great picture, but interesting enough to share, as I’m taking it within ten minutes of seeing the fox!

I think I’ve filled my quota of wildlife shots for the day, but at lunchtime I get a call from one of my crew that there’s a bear on his car,  with him in it!  I bring my camera and get this:

I’m embarrassed to admit this isn’t a long lens – the bear’s about thirty feet away, and though it’s a bit shy, it definitely isn’t scared.  I suspect that it’s used to scavenging around humans.

Nonetheless, I stay, um, grafted to the car door.

We only see this one thigh-high guy, though a passing fisherman says he’s just driven by three.

Did I mention that  I love this place?