Right as Rain

Posted on February 15, 2010 by Leslie

Its Valentines’ Day and I’m finally home.

The day was clear and beautiful. I awoke to a small bit of fresh snow and a beautiful fiery sunrise.

: Sunrise over Dead Indian

Last night I watched the elk that overwinter in my valley. I heard the recent G&F count was 1460. They come down from the Park when the weather pushes them out. This year, as last year, they were a bit on the ‘late’ side. At dusk and dawn they come out of the tree cover to feed. Here’s a herd of about 700.

: Just a small part of the large elk herd behind my house

: More elk

: Beautiful elk in their winter clothing

The herd is almost exclusively cows and their calves with a few young males, called ‘spikes’ because their antlers are barely branched, if at all.

The whole day the wolves were howling in the valley. Its mating season and I suppose its also Valentines Day for them too.

We felled some beetle infested trees on my property and did a burn that lasted till after dusk. The wolves howled. The air was still and clear. The ash fell like snowflakes. Elk grazed on the flats up above and a lone Great Horned Owl called in the low light of the sky. I’m back and everything is right as rain.