I have seen a hawk rise from the bank of a beaver pond with a writhing snake in its talons. 

I have heard the vocal calls of elk calves to their mothers nearby, and then have seen the youngsters take off running across an open meadow just to see how fast they could run.  I have heard the bugle call of a bull elk in Yellowstone echo off the mountains and I could tell he was at least a mile away, but in that crisp snowy October morning, that distant bellow was commanding.

I have seen a coyote stalk, charge and catch some luckless rodent, then gulp it down like a fast food hamburger. 

I have seen a mother black bear with three cubs suddenly rip the ground open to lay bare the underground tunnels and home of a ground hog, then proceed to feed, letting the youngsters have only what they were quick enough to take from her.  I went back later to that crater she had dug in seconds and I could tell that it would have taken me all day with a shovel, ax and mattock to make that hole.

I have seen the aspens high in the Wasatch Range in Utah turn brilliant yellow.  In the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia the fall scarlets, reds, yellows and greens all mixed together overwhelm the eyes while the smell in the air says winter is coming.