Hopefully this fall foliage did the trick and helped this little Bighorn Sheep put on a few pounds for the winter ahead. Near Gardiner, MT.
Tag: ecology
…yes, the earth breathes
Watching the earth breath in and out reminds me that this system is alive.
Alive in a way we might not fully understand as the pieces and connections are known yet the interactions a complex.
We have the knowledge yet lack the understanding or so it seems.
How to make it understood is a question we seem to struggle with. Perhaps seeing and observing can help in some way soften the mind to consider complex ideas and then understanding will follow. Time spent just looking is thus time well spent.
Fountain Paint Pots, Yellowstone National Park, 2018.
Yellowlegs
A Lesser Yellowlegs foraging in a temporary pond alongside a county road in Eastern Colorado last spring. I sure wish we would get some snow soon as without it winter feels like a strange spring that lacks the birds and has short days.
Goldfinch and Thistle
An American Goldfinch was working over these thistle plant pretty good for an afternoon meal at the Bosque Del Apache national Wildlife refuge. From the looks of it this chubby guy is well versed at extracting thistle seeds.
Clarks Nutcracker
A regular and constant companion on forest hikes is the Clarks’s Nutcracker. This day instead of foraging for pine nuts this nutcracker was busy feasting on crickets on a late fall afternoon. We watched as she swooped down from a tree landed in a field and quickly picked up a cricket. We were quite surprised as it had been quite cold and well below freezing yet there were insects to be found.
Clark’s are fascinating birds that each year bury tens of thousands of pine nuts. They remember the location of a large majority of the seeds which they consume during the winter. The seeds they forget then may become new trees and thus the Clarks it integral to the growth of new forests.
Yellowstone Taxi Service
Finding a free ride is always a nice thing. A European Starling in fall plumage hitching a ride on an the official mammal of the United States the American Bison. All aboard.
Thanksgiving
A walk through the woods and then a wonderful meal with family. Truly things to be thankful for and the perfect way to spend the day.
Crossing Guard
Even with ears up and eyes peeled Mom still assumes the role of crossing guard for two adolescent Mule Deer. Great Sand Dunes National Park, 2015. So much to learn so little time.
Pine Martin: Martes americana
The squirrels in the forest we sure making a racket this day and for good reason as this Pine Marten was on the prowl.
Eye on you
Even at 6′ tall and weighing over 1,000 lbs this American Bison: Bison bison keeps an eye on us as we hike through their terrain in the morning light.
nature has no boss 
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