Oh, Happy Day!

Sunday, March 20, 2016

First day of Spring!  Woke up to an absolutely gorgeous morning; clear blue sky, birds singing their little hearts out, sunshine, forecast of 56 degrees,,,  what better way to celebrate than with a road trip?  Headed up to the Bison Range with my camera and the Big Gun to see what I could find. 

My plan was to leave the house no later than 7:00, and 6:30 was preferable.  BUT… as is typical because I don’t account for the time it takes to get the dogs settled, I didn’t leave until 8:05.  But I was in no hurry and simply enjoyed the drive.

As I topped Evaro Hill the Mission Mountains came into view, and a big smile came onto my face.  The sight of these incredible mountains always makes me smile - it's like coming home. 

At Ravalli I turned off Highway 93 and onto Highway 200, and about six or eight miles down the road I was sidetracked for several minutes by the “Oreo Cows”, and got several shots of them and their little Oreo calves.  I have not idea what the official breed name is but I just love them.  

Arrived at the Bison Range at around 9:20 and headed on up to the Visitor Center but it is closed for the season; no fee!  I headed out on the ten mile winter drive, and as I passed the turnoff toward the staff housing area I stopped and began to turn, changed my mind and headed toward the winter road, and then changed my mind again and turned off.  I never know what causes me to change directions so suddenly, but I always trust that somewhere deep down, my intuition is guiding me.  It did so again today, for as I approached the bottom of the drive where Mission Creek comes nearest the road, I saw two swans on the creek. 

I parked my rig and got out to grab the tripod out of the back seat, but as I was setting the camera and lens on the tripod I heard the swans honking loudly from what I thought was overhead.  I looked out onto the creek and they were gone.  Damn, they flew away.  But again, that inner voice told me to wait, and sure enough the swans had not flown off, they had just floated down the creek and around the bend behind the cattails.  I aimed my lens and stood as still as possible while the male swam back toward me, seemingly checking me out.  He turned and swam away again but a very short time later the pair revealed themselves to me, as if they knew I would do them no harm. 

 

The male, K72 was here last year, and the female had K62 on her neck band.  The female last year had no neck band so I’m not sure if this is a new mate, or the same one with a new “necklace”.

The combination of the soft morning light, and the dark background of the water and the trees behind the creek gave me the most amazing shots of the swans!  When I had taken enough photos (can you ever really take "enough" photos?), I thanked the swans, picked up my tripod and walked back to my car.     

When I got back up to the winter road another vehicle was parked and I pulled in behind them.  A pair of Mountain Bluebirds were tending the nesting box attached to a fence post.  The males are such beautiful birds with their bright, turquoise blue feathers.  The females, being more drab, still have some blue feathers and even they are quite pretty.  As I shot some photos of them from inside my car, I noticed that the male had a bug in his mouth and I knew they had chicks already!   And once again, after numerous photos I thanked them for being so cooperative as I drove off. 

Meadowlarks were everywhere!  While they were singing prolifically, and very visible with their bright yellow breasts, they were unfortunately still too far away, even for the Big Gun (I need to name this lens).  But I left my window down just to listen to them, and just in case one was singing nearer the road. 

I drove slowly, enjoying the fact that I was the only vehicle on the road at the time.  No tourists zipping past and scaring off all of the critters; just me and the animals and my camera - gotta love it. 

At the spot where the creek runs alongside the road I saw several White-tail Deer and stopped to get some photos.  As I was pulling away I was startled by a Pronghorn that jumped up onto the road from the slope along the creek.  I think it was as startled as I was because it just stood there looking at me for several moments, and acted as if it wasn’t sure which way to go.  I took advantage of its indecision and got a good number of photos of it. I missed a :perfect” shot of it gazing off into the sun - the lighting was perfect but the mirror on my car was in the way.  But the shot I did get was looking in the same direction, although it had its nose to the ground.  Nonetheless however, it was a good shot and by far my favorite from the day.

As I had been photographing the Pronghorn, the deer wandered off to a more open area, and when the Pronghorn noticed they were no longer there he turned in the direction they had gone and quickened his pace to catch up with them.  I had to wonder why this Pronghorn was hangin’ with the deer.  Had he been booted from his herd?  It was a male and it’s very likely the dominant buck ran him off, but why wouldn’t he just find the other bachelors to herd up with - why the deer, of all things?  I think he's a little confused...

There is a large circle of boulders at the end of the winter road, just below the switchbacks, and I parked my car there and got out.  It was so very quiet!  No sounds but the Meadowlarks, Bluebirds, nearby cows, and the breeze through the sagebrush. Someone - most likely a child - had placed three stones on top of one of the boulders.  I immediately loved the simplicity of it and took a few shots of it.  It made me happy and I could not even begin to understand why.

The Missions were prominent; covered with snow and basked in sunlight. I'm drawn to these mountains in ways I don't understand, but I certainly don't fight it - I willingly let them tug at me.

On the way back out I realized that I had not seen a single buffalo!  I looked closely at the tops of the hills and in the lower coulees and dips near the creek -not a bison in sight.  I was disappointed!  Not that I needed to see them; but I expected to.  They're always there and it just seemed so strange.

Before I headed out I stopped at the pond, but it was lifeless. Not a single turtle to be seen.  But it is only March, and they are probably still hibernating in the mud. I did hear a Kingfisher and headed of it the direction from which I heard its voice, but there was a sign that read “Swans nesting; no public access beyond this point”. I wasn’t sure it that meant no access on that trail, or not to get any closer to the pond.  Either way, I retreated back to my car and headed out. 

About a mile or so down Highway 200 there is a Great Horned Owl nest that was pointed out to me last year by a fellow photographer.  The owl was back and looked to be sitting on eggs.  I got a few shots of her and headed home.

On the way home I heard an announcement on the radio that today in the International Day of Happiness.  How appropriate. 

Cabin Fever Cure

Spring is just around the corner!  I woke up this morning to a clear blue sky an a forecast of 50 degrees - what else could I do but grab my camera and hit the road?  

It was only a short trip, but a good one all the same.  Headed down to the wildlife refuge to see what was going on, and I was not disappointed.

The Great Blue Heron rookery is very active, with adult birds reclaiming and rebuilding last year's nests.  Red-tail Hawks are sprouting their summer plumage and perching from treetops to check on what's for lunch.  The Swans have disappeared from the main pond and probably headed to one of the smaller ones in the back of the refuge, where they have more privacy for nesting. Not a lot of ducks out there today; mostly Mallards and Gadwalls, and of course the Canada Geese.  There were also a few Pintails, one Ring-neck Duck and a few female Hooded Mergansers.  Oh, and a very active Muskrat or two. 

I was rather surprised to see (and hear), two Marsh Wrens - I didn't know they had started returning already.  They were still too far off for even the long lens but I'll be back when they're more plentiful and easier to capture with the camera.

Come On Spring!

It was a beautiful, sunny day today and I made a quick trip down to the wildlife refuge. Not a lot of activity, which I expected, but I did get some nice shots of the ducks and swans that hang around all year.  

From top to bottom they are:  Northern Pintails, Hooded Merganser, Swans (sorry, I can't tell if they are Tundra or Trumpeter, we have both here), and a Northern Pintail.
 
There were also a number of Gadwalls and Green-winged Teals, but the elusive little rascals stayed out of reach of the camera lens.  A lot of Mallards too, but they are so common that I don't even attempt photos of them anymore.

I saw a single Osprey that had a fish in its talons.  I'm told that on occasion they will winter over, and being that this has been a relatively mild winter, I am not surprised that it was there.  

A lot of Turkeys out and about today!  I counted at least 62 of them, in small groups scattered about the stubble of the surrounding pastures. 

Not a single White-tail Deer today, which surprised me. They are typically so visible that most of the locals simply ignore them, but being that it was such a nice, warm day I expected to see them.  Apparently they had other plans.  


One thing that did surprise me was three - count 'em, three - Red-winged Blackbirds "singing" and displaying in the cattails already!  The forecast for the next ten days is low to mid 40s and even up to 50 degrees on a couple of days.  Six more weeks of winter?  I think the groundhog lied...

First Sunrise

At the dawn of a new year the temperature outside is a brisk 2 degrees with 45% humidity and as trudged down to the meadow to capture the fist sunrise of 2016, I realized I had not bundled up nearly good enough!  The only gloves I have that keep my fingers warm enough are too bulky to manage the controls on the camera and have to be removed to shoot.  As a result my fingers were almost numb from the cold as I attempted some photos of the first sunrise of 2016.  

A small covey of partridges greeted me as I entered the meadow, but chuckled at me and scurried away, nestling themselves into a small snow bank about 50 yards away.  Even if I would have had my telephoto lens with me, there was not enough light for a photo of them.  They ventured out a bit as I began to shoot, but stayed near the protection of their snow bank. 

A lone White Tail buck bolted up from a thicket nearby, and I don’t know who was more started, him or me.  He only stopped and stared at me for a few seconds before bounding away, white flag tail waving good-bye as he disappeared over a small hill.

My trek outside was very short but I did manage some great sunrise photos – perhaps some of the best I’ve taken in a long time.  The sun and clouds did not disappoint and I was able to capture some amazing color.  I don’t usually set my alarm as I have two Australian Shepherds that wake me up well before I think is reasonable, but today I was thankful that I have dogs with such great internal clocks, who wake me up while it is still dark outside.  It was while I took them outside that I saw the beginnings of what turned out to be a most beautiful sunrise.

As I sit at my desk with a cup of steaming hot chocolate, I look often out the window as I work, and this morning I watched the sun make a feeble attempt to poke through the thick layer of clouds.  But if were to succeed, and all of the clouds dissipate, it would be an illusion.  Even on the sunniest winter days with a clear blue sky, it always looks deceptively pleasant – until you step outside and freeze your toes off because yes, this is January and yes, it is cold.  

The weather forecast for the next five days tops out at 17 degrees, with night time temps below zero, and freezing fog.  Most of the time this sounds like a perfect reason to stay indoors, snuggled up on the couch with my thick comforter, a good book (or my computer), and a cup of hot tea or cocoa.  But I have to admit that as a photographer I’m anticipating some great hoar frost, which makes for the most amazing images!

Last night was the calm before the storm, weather wise.  A bit chilly at 20 degrees but toasty compared to what’s in store for the next week.  I’m never ready for the cold weather but once it arrives, what can you do?  You just have to deal with it, and so I do.  Dogs still have to be taken outside – although for much shorter periods of time; the car has to be started every morning when it gets this cold, and again only for a brief time, the driveway needs to be shoveled, etc, etc.  Dig out the snow pants and boots, the long johns and heavy wool socks, and just muddle through the cold.  I guess it only makes us appreciate the other seasons all that much more.

So here’s to a new year – a new beginning – a new chapter in my life.  Bring it on 2016, I’m ready and waiting!