"Neigh"borhood Horses
Some one get the curry comb and brushes out! These horses need to get some of their winter coat removed. Aren’t they sweet?
I love these guys. They live in the field next to our property and I see them everyday.
The photo to the left was taken yesterday, the one below was taken earlier this winter.
Winter Finch (Red Crossbill) and a Moose, again
These photos were taken on our property west of Victor, Montana. Life is good when you are surrounded by nature.
To the left is a winter finch called a Red Crossbill. It is nice to see little color.
Below is a female moose. She is standing behind my chicken coop. I had seen her tracks, but not her. Today she decided to come out and show herself.
Buttercups, an early sign of spring
Today’s hike was inbetween rain showers. We didn’t see any game, but did see new life “springing” up. Buttercups are one of the firsts signs of spring!
The palmated leaves to the right of the yellow flowers are lupine.
On the way home, we passed Amy Sage, Bill LaCroix and their daughter, Anna. They were out for an afternoon bike ride. Anna is one of my favorite photo subjects. I am sure you can see why.
Is it Winter or Spring or Inbetween?
Yesterday we hiked and it was about 48 degrees and blue sky. Today, we are in a snow storm, warm, but huge wet flakes falling down.
These photos show moss greening up on the slopes we hike. The warmer weather is releasing water from the high mountains, too. This stream bed is dry most of the year.
Another Moose Sighting Today!
This seems to be the year of the Moose. We have Moose tracks in on our property (no actual sighting yet), we have seen a bull Moose regularly up in the Gash Point area, and Jack has seen a Moose in the Sweathouse drainage. Today, on our hike up a ridge south of Sweathouse Creek, I got to capture a few photos of this Moose.
Click on the photo for a larger view. The photo isn’t the greatest, the Moose was nervous and didn’t want to stand still very long. I like to try to lean on a tree to steady the camera, but I didn’t have time.
It was a beautiful day and we were lucky to see this wonderful animal. It doesn’t get much better than this.
Mule Deer and that Moose again!
Today on our ski, we went back up Bear Creek and Gash Creek early in the morning. The snow is better when it is cool and of course, the Super Bowl is on this afternoon.
I saw the moose again and this time, Jack was with me. He was on the next ridge over (from where I saw him two days ago) and as we skied by, he saw us, but was so uninterested he bedded down. The photos of the moose are with the Pentax Optio. I can ski with it and not worry about hurting the camera, but it isn’t much for zoom or focus.
As we skied on, it is funny. The moose tracks were all over the snow covered road. They reminded me of a drunken sailor. I am sure it was easy traveling and he was looking for browse, but he zigged and zagged!
On the way down, we saw a young mule deer doe and her fawn. It was the “furriest” fawn I have ever seen. I hope you can see the curley fur in it’s ears. I took the deer photos with my Canon EOS 40D.
Click on the photo to see a larger view. They will open in a new window.
Gash Creek Ski Day
Yesterday, we tried to find snow, it was limited. On a climb up a ridge, I managed to run into a moose. He had a very blond rack but I couldn’t get much of a photo. As I edged closer to him, he charged me. I think I annoyed him. After that, I sheepishly retreated back down the ridge. I would rather be safe than sorry. 
These two photos were taken with a Pentax Optio camera. Not the best when you want to focus in on a moose through the trees, but you get the idea of how big he is.
In December, we had about a week of really good snow. This slideshow shows one of those days. We saw a pair of Mule deer, too.
Horses Feeding in the Winter
On my way back from a hike today, I saw these horses. I had to chuckle at their feeding station. The owner is tired of loosing the hay to all the deer and elk that hang around here. He took deer and elk hides and placed them all around the hay cradle. I wonder if it works!
Elk in December
The photo to the left isn’t just blurry, it is snowing – a lot! This was taken in December 2006. The bull is from the same herd in the slideshow below.
This year there is very little snow. The slideshow photos were taken in December 2008. The herd hangs out on the edge of private land and Forest Service land. I hike the area and see them frequently. These are winter photos. I will post some others from spring and summer in a later post.
Other elk blogs I have done can be found on one of my other blogs. Click here and scroll down: A Blog for Wapiti Waters Fly Fishing Montana.
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and at Merle's SmugMug Photo Gallery
Fly Fishing Montana with Wapiti Waters and Jack Mauer- May 16 Bitterroot 2nd runoff pulseBitterroot air temperatures have been in the high 80's for the last three days and the snow melt is increasing the river flows. The air temperatures are supposed to drop in the next few days and rain is predicted next week. This will be interesting. Here are some photos at Victor Crossing taken the afternoon of May 16. Victor Crossing is about 5 miles u […]
- May 10 on the Bitterroot River - flows are stepping upThe Bitterroot had clarity on May 7 and still on May 8 - also terrific caddis hatches! But now the weather has been much warmer and the flows are stepping up. See the charts below. Bitterroot River on May 7 north of Angler's Roost Darby gauge station is upriver from Angler's Roost - on May 7 flows at Darby were about 1900 CFS Bell Crossing gauge st […]
- May 7 on the Bitterroot River from Angler's RoostPhotos taken from Angler's Roost to Main Street Bridge in Hamilton. The Darby USGS water flow gauge reported 1900 CFS on this day. Clarity was good, caddis hatches prolific but not many feeding trout. Gorgeous day, though. Anglers Roost Montana www.anglersroost-montana.com/ Anglers Roost is your one stop fly fishing information and tackle fly shop in Mo […]
- A windy day on the Missouri River in early MayYou can see the wind moving the water! Nice brown trout - yes, it was released ASAP Jack spent a few days on the Missouri River with his daughter and two grandsons. The young boys were dressed warm enough and that is good. It was cold and very windy. But, there were fish to be caught again. Here are a couple of photos.
- May 16 Bitterroot 2nd runoff pulse
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My Blog List
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Alan Pilkington - a message and photos about Alan and Martha's trip to Argentina - Merle and Jack, Martha and I back from BA and trying to catch up after two weeks away. Our hunt for red stag in the Pampas was very interesting. Very differ...
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BRTU Women’s Fly Fishing Clinic, May 9, 2009 - Have you heard about the Bitterroot TU Women’s Fly Fishing Clinic? It is Saturday, May 9th, from 10-4pm at Teller Wildlife Refuge (click for map). Cost is ...
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Montana Gumbo with Baked Brown Rice - [image: Montana Gumbo]*2009, Merle Ann Loman, All Rights Reserved*** Prep Time: 30 min Inactive Prep Time: hr min Cook Time: 45 min Level: Easy – use leftov...
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