Terelj Park

This weekend we went again to Terelj Park. What a relief to escape the noise and pollution of the city. The weather continues to be mild (lows around 0 degrees F. and highs in the teens and twenties), and still there is no snow.

There are a number of inholdings in the park. It seems that most of the people who live there in the winter herd livestock. The unfortunate aspect of that land use is a proliferation of fences. On the plus side, however, is getting a glimpse of how the year-round residents live.
This man dressed in his traditional deel trotted his pony up to visit us as we ate lunch at a high point (about 1900 m.) Those ponies can go anywhere! We offered chocolate and oranges, and he seemed pleased to pose for photos.

I continue to be surprised at the sun's warmth even this late in the year. It's so much stronger than the weak rays that manage to reach Alaska in winter. Of course, when it goes down the temperature plummets, and people in the park heat their gers mainly with wood (or sometimes coal). We encountered this family on its way to gather wood Sunday morning.

I also was surprised to spot some birds wintering over. I saw the familiar chickadees, and two fairly large woodpeckers (one with black/white/red markings and the other a dull brown). The highlight, however, was being checked out at fairly close range by two huge, dark buzzards (wingspans at least 5 feet-- no lie). They circled overhead low enough for us to hear the wind in their wings, leaving me with a prickly feeling that we'd briefly been considered for lunch. Or perhaps they were merely paying their respects to the ovoo (at left) by circling three times.

(Photos courtesy of E. Beavers)