I've seen so many breeds, but they are usually small dogs because everyone in this area lives in an apartment. However, I've also seen a beautiful collie, many beagles, terriers, and poodles.
My apartment building is next to an empty lot. It is a grassy, mini ecosystem for birds. I see birds all the time from my window. The most common is the rufous-collared sparrow. These cute little birds have a red ruff at their throats, and a distinct song I've learned to recognize. There is almost always one perched on the ledge outside my window.
Another common city bird is called the great thrush. It is a large black bird that reminds me of the grackles back home. The males have a distictive orange-yellow eye ring, so it's easy to tell the males from females. They often battle for space on the window ledge.
Aside from the birds and dogs, I don't have much opportunity to see animals in the city.
I am training to climb to the summit of Mount Cotopaxi (a volcano) by the end of this month. Part of my preparation is a series of weekly training hikes. Every Saturday I go with my training group to climb a different volcano. On Saturday we climbed Volcán Corazón (the Heart Volcano). It was a challenging climb, but we reached the summit at 15,720 feet (4,790 meters).
The final summit required wearing a helmet and climbing harness. We had to clip in to climb up a rock wall and along a narrow ledge to reach the summit. It was scary, but amazing to see the valley below. It feels like you're on another planet up there, surrounded by volcanic rock, clouds, fog, and sleet pelting you during the climb.
