As the days grow colder we see the signs of winter. The little blackbirds begin to swarm in larger numbers. One day the Canadian geese are no longer around. The leaves from our tree have fallen and the grasses are golden beige hues. The mountains in the distance are dusted white and many days are overcast and we simply trust that the mountain are still out there in the distance. But the sign we're most aware of, is the antelope. We enjoy watching for them in the mornings on gopher hill and look forward to their afternoon naps and visits to the pond and salt lick. All summer long we see a few here and a few there, but as they begin to congregate in larger numbers in the fall we wonder each day, 'Will this be the last day we see them this year?' It's always delightful to see them again the next day. They tend to come closer and closer to the house and we spend moments staring at each other...
Until... one day... they're gone.
This year however...
they left one behind.
This little guy was all alone behind the barn.
We called him Mohawk.
His leg was injured. He couldn't stand up and allowed us to get close enough to shift him and bring him some water. We didn't know what else to do for him.
We called the wildlife game warden and they came out and took him away.
On a trip to town to distantly deliver some goodies to my primary children... I discovered another Wyoming social distancing example.
These moose are often rumored to be out and about town, but it's rare that they come out when we are in town.
Even when they do make an appearance, it's rarely for long.
They definitely keep their distance.
If they think you are infringing on their space, they make it known... Fortunately, they generally just leave... but it has been said they will get in your face if need be to make it known that they need their space to be respected.
Moose are a bit haughty if you ask me.
Something about doing social distancing before it was 'popular'.
This summer has seen a lot of long days.. up with the sunrises and down with the sunsets. We have been keenly aware of the hazy skies that have made for some eerie sunrises and sunsets. The knowledge that our smoky skies were nothing in comparison to others and more than that, the outcome of loss of forests and homes.
We gratefully soldiered on with our construction and our lives. We have had health, and a roof over our heads..(figuratively), food in our tummies and much of our day to day has not been disrupted by fires, pandemics or any of the other political, riots, and mayhem of the day.
We've found joy in stopping to enjoy the wildlife as it stops by to visit. A baby antelope early one morning, and a hawk one mid-day and the routine mid-afternoon grazing of the main antelope herd.
Jim says he saw a hedgehog on one of his trips to the post office.. We've seen many bald and golden eagles soaring as we've biked the many backroads. We've seen evidence of moose, but yet to see one. We've spotted a quick fox, (it was red, not brown and it didn't jump over a lazy dog!).
The days are definitely shorter, and extremely colder. The antelope will move on soon. The snow will come and we'll have other tasks to take our time. The jackrabbits will return, and we will carry on.
The temperature never made it over 11*f, (or -11*c)
What a great day to drive through the canyon, grateful for an avalanche free drive!
What a great day to wear SIX layers and wrap in big blankets and go for a winter sleigh ride.
What a great day to stay down wind of thousands of wintering elk just minutes outside of Jackson Hole.
I learned a lot! I, hopefully, won't sound so citified in local conversations.
I found it interesting that Patrick asked a lot of questions... I assumed he already knew all about the wildlife.
The elk were rather quiet and subdued for our visit. A few put on a sparring show for us but mostly they were content to relax. Apparently their mating season ended and now they're recuperating.
Even with six layers and a blanket... my toes were cold and my cheeks.
Patrick only had on two layers. He warmed my feet when we returned inside the visitors center.
I suggested a stop for some hot cocoa but was outvoted. We stopped at Dairy Queen and all the silly boys ordered blizzards! I had hot chicken strips!
I already failed to sound educated on the way home... I casually said we should do the trip again in the summer when we could enjoy the view without freezing.....
Our friend kindly said, we could.. but the elk won't be there, since the name of this place in the Elk's WINTER refuge site.
Twenty eight different visitors to our home between June and mid September.
All enjoyed seeing the wildlife... the antelope sightings.. the gophers... some deer... even a bloated dead cow.
Hawks, eagles, falcons, Canadian geese, Buffalo, badger,
But..
Try as we did, we did not have a moose sighting at all.
Miles apparently saw them regularly going to work and back but never did we or our visitors encounter a moose.
Which we have completely made up for this month.
They are rather quiet creatures... and very large.
These three were taking a snooze outside the retirement center when we came to pick up Duncan.
They were tired after having wandered through town enjoying a Halloween snack.
They were not bothered by Duncan leaving the building and coming to the car.
They were content here for hours. Still resting when we left scouts later that evening.
They apparently enjoy this location...
Since we are only here on Wednesday afternoons, I don't know if this is a daily occurrence or just for us on Wednesdays.
They don't hesitate to return... even without enticing pumpkin treats.
Here's their apology face for 'moosing' all our visitors.
We've seen them a total of 4 Wednesdays now. And we've some some ambling across the fields along her drive home. There have also been some in the bushes by the creek as we enter town... the quick glimpses are always when I don't have time to stop for a photo, so I appreciated the cooperation of these three amigos... or 'amoosgos'.
We've encountered some wildlife since our move here. Most we view at a distance.
The fox and the jack rabbits are content to cross our paths nightly as we drive home. The coyotes serenade from a distance. (thankfully!) The antelope have moved to warmer pastures... (about 100 miles south), in their place the deer have come to play. The gophers and badgers have vanished but I expect they'll make an appearance again in the spring. The skunks still make their presence known and the hawks and eagles majestically soar for our viewing pleasure.
Percival is another story.
Percival has made himself right at home. At OUR home. He took up residence in the greenhouse. I only noticed him when I looked out and saw an enormous creature climbing out of our newly constructed compost bin. At first I wondered if it was a badger or a raccoon, but upon closer inspection we determined... a porcupine.
We came inside and researched what we needed to know about porcupines.
They are nocturnal
There are only a few species in North America
They like to eat grasses, vegetables, grainsand salty things.
They can be a nuisance because they tend to gnaw on gardeners wooden tool handles.
They do NOT actually shoot their quills, but they are very adept at protecting themselves.
They don't move very quickly
They are the largest member of the rodent family.
Hmmm, well now what? gnaw on wooden tool handles.. He has taken up residence in the greenhouse. A regular smorgasbord of tool handles there. He makes daily visits to the compost bin. We'll never create beautiful soil at the rate he's eating all our vegetable waste.
He's content to hide in the corner of the green house and ignore us. The neighbourhood cats don't appear to be frightened of him.
We decided we could all just go on ignoring each other... until this evening. We arrived home from town around 8:30pm. All was quiet and dark. As I pulled down the driveway I noticed movement ahead and saw Percival in all his waddling glory. He paused for just a moment and turned his head into the headlights. Then just as quickly he turned and did what he considers running toward the porch!!! "Wrong way Percival", I said.
I gave a quick toot to frighten him into continuing on his way. He appeared to be going under the porch, until the neighbours cat came out from under the deck. Percival turned to leave.
"Point for the cats, I suppose." I muttered as I continued to pull up to the house. Only then did I see the other neighbourhood cat sauntering toward Percival. Percival froze. Feeling surrounded by the car and two cats, he escaped in the only direction left available to him.
Up the stairs, onto the porch and parked himself smack in front of the door!
The two cats took up sentinel posts on either side of him.
For the next thirty minutes the boys and I sat in the car unsure how to proceed. We tried playing music, honking the horn, driving away and then returning, whistling, growling, and begging. Percival didn't so much as flinch! Our toes were beginning to freeze even with the heater going.
At long last, Patrick pulled in with the older boys. They noticed us parked askew and still in the car and then they saw Percival and started to laugh.
Our knight in tarnished armor continued to laugh as he took on the mighty beast. We may have also been laughing.
We came off conquerors this time. There are quite a few quills on the porch.
