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The Field Notes section chronicles our adventures abroad in a daily journal-like fashion. As the seasons sometimes pull us in multiple directions for extended spans of time, please understand if updates are not daily (or even weekly if on long adventures), but be rest assured―we'll catch you up as soon as we return!
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12/31/05 Day 2 of 2 for the Austin Group gave some great views of the Agate Creek wolf pack up on Specimen Ridge in Little America. The group mozied through the forest edges and gave some half-hearted attempts at chasing a few bull elk but they didn't see what they were looking for. Good views of alpha male 113M, alpha female 472F another adult gray and 2 pups. The afternoon found us skiing the Barronette trail. Right from the start we had some great examples of how to fall on skis... namely from myself with a face-plant off of the road grade. It was a great day to be out with intermittent sun and warmth in the air. Unfortunately, the latter made the fresh snow layer stick like bubblegum to the bottom of our skis. Luckily Jim saved the day with his glide wax solution. Several cameras were poised at each of the 'dipsydoodles' crossing the trail to catch the finer points of each persons impending doom. Gladly all was met with lots of jokes and good humor. The final hill at the downhill side of the trail provided as much instruction on the grace and aptitude on can achieve in falling as the other Jim, Jim Austin that is, did a remarkable head-plant into the snow and made even the most hearty wince... but we didn't laugh... much :) 12/30/05 This was the first of 2 days of being at the Lamar Valley Buffalo Ranch with Barb Austin and her intrepid group of travelers from Boise, ID. The wolf viewing was somewhat slow in the morning but we had a really nice view of the Ghost Pack's alpha female up on Junction Butte. She had blood all around her neck and some suggested that this was from being mauled... perhaps by the Slough Creek Pack as they were seen chasing some of her pack members yesterday. As we watched we did see her get up, turn around and lay back down, very stiffly I might add, but this appeared to be part of her aged state and the blood, to Rick McIntyre and I, looked to be more of that associated with feeding than fighting. There was also blood in the snow next to her but this could have been from a morsel that she carried off in a 'doggie bag' to feed on later, rather than blood in her bed. Another interesting feature about her was a dark black, apparently hairless streak down here left shoulder and front leg. Some suggested that this may have been a sign of mange―another spot was seen on her right front foot and some hair appeared to be missing from the top of her right ear. Needless to say, we still haven't gotten a strait answer on any of this (and as of writing this 1/5/06) as she has not been seen again. Below is a sketch of what this mark looked like from my field notebook.
At the confluence of the Lamar River and Soda Butte Creek we had a some nice looks at the band of bighorn sheep there which included 22 total individuals―6 rams including 2-3/4 curls were in among them. 12/14/05 All day has been spent creating, printing, and writing, and mailing Christmas cards. Jasper and I both need some time outside. He's been very patient with my getting-up-and-out-of-the-chair-like-we're-gonna-do-something routine. 12/13/05 Woke up this morning and went to open the window shades as we ritually do each morning. Jenny had already gone to work, and as I drew the chords back and the curtains up, found, instead of the clear impending magenta sunrise, shell pink sky, Electric Peak drenched in citrus light, or lilac dawn ether, a front of grayness to the south signaling snow on its coattails. There would be little sun to warm the scantly insulated house today. Off to walk Jasper by the office to see Jenny and play fetch with the boy in the Arch Park. Then its back to the studio... 12/12/05 Did some more work on the wolf after a dinner of brussels sprouts and venison tenderloin―and a quick rendition of Angeline the Baker with Jenny on fiddle and me on guitar. Took a nice ride around the Old Yellowstone Road with Park botanist Jennifer Whipple this morning in order to learn some of the plants along that stretch of the Park for this winter's wildlife programs. One that was new to me was the low―almost dwarf hawthorn-looking Spiny Hop sage which is a rare plant in Montana. Gardiner and the lower northern range of Yellowstone is unique in that it is at, and resembles, all 3 major ecological zones in the greater western region: the Rocky Mountains, Basin and Range, and the Great Plains. Along the way we found a couple groups of pronghorn close to the road―so close in fact that a few of them puffed up their rump hairs as a sign of their agitation... looking like they were sporting a nice set of white diapers. Down near Cinnabar a beautiful group of bighorns grazed on the flats near the road. One large ram was among them and several ewes, but also present was one annoying little ram that kept chasing all the females with seemingly little regard for their personal space. 12/11/05 Today's entry would best be described as studio notes... spent most of the day working on the life size wolf 21M sculpture―only leaving my work place to retrieve clay warming in the oven upstairs―and being blinded by the direct, and unimpeded sunlight in the process, and yes, to walk the little puppy boy and have a break long enough to have diner with my sweet wife. The sculpture is coming wonderfully... just as planned... phewww! All the hard work in the prep stage getting the armature and reference markers in is now paying off. 12/10/05 Skied up Republic Creek in Cooke City this morning through the afternoon! What a day... warmer indeed than the few before, sunny, still, and in good company. Included in the 'crew' today were Jim Peaco, and his better half Catherine, Don MacDougal, Julianne Baker, Jenny and I, oh and Jasper too! The snow was fresh and dry. Our wax-less skis worked great throughout, save a few steep dips and dives where that dry powder rolled away below us and we had to resort to side-stepping. Climbing to sky on either side of us were the walls of the drainage―rocky and windblown―they swooped downward in smooth concavity through spruce and fir forest in a basin stripped in avalanche chutes. Cognizant of the latter we stayed low despite the avalanche forecaster's predictions of low to moderate risk. Amid one of the forested meadows we spotted a dark lump atop the snow. There appeared to be no tracks leading to, or from it. An owl pellet I wondered? Jim noticed it too and pointed it out to the others. As we skied out to it it became clear that tracks were leading to it, very small ones―it was a vole. The poor little fellow had run a zigzag line from the far side of the meadow only to run out of gas as it seemed three quarters across the blank tableau of white. I would have examined the vole closer after taking the photo below, BUT the next photo frame was of Jasper's muzzle darting in to do some investigations of his own...
Left to right: Jim Peaco, Catherine with a mouth full of something, Don, with a mouth full of something else, and THE vole 12/9/05 Jenny and I took an afternoon ski up Eagle Creek with Jasper. In riding up the road in the truck we came upon 2 huge bull elk; one of them had his dagger tine broken off about 4" above the main beam. Snow getting deeper, mealy in fact... even in 4x4, so we backed up and parked in a spot more distant from the route we were hoping to take. Lots of snowshoe hare tracks along the path when we did get up there. Jasper would bound off the trail and stick his nose into each track imprint as if to see if this was 'a new one'. So quiet is was, no wind, just us and the dog, snow-laden spruce and the trail breaking before us. 12/7/05 And we thought yesterday was cold... it was -36F in Lamar Valley this morning and a balmy -13F when we had lunch there! 12/6/05 Temperatures dropping more, highs supposed to be in teens, it was -3F this morning when we got up. 12/5/05 Snow, snow, snow!!! Nearly all day long it fell here in Gardiner! 12/3/05 It was my first ski of the year! Got back home to MT last night and with the thermometer reading 16 degrees F in the kitchen we grabbed the skis and headed north of town to enjoy the white. Trees up Eagle Creek were cluttered with ravens and the large forms of juvenile and adult bald eagles―at least 7 of them. The buffalo hunt is on and they are getting a breakfast meal of left-overs. Wonderful powder swaddled our x-country skis with every kick and brought on the quiet that only comes with winter. Douglas fir were billowing with snow and the ground was piled to a depth of ~12-15". We made a large loop for the better part of 2 hours seeing a group of magnificent elk that included 4 cows, a rag horn bull, and 3 trophy-class bulls. Having spotted us with Jasper they departed in a gliding escape over the fields of white and smatterings of sage. Bighorn sheep were seen along the roads and steep terrain north of town. When driving out of the National Forest we could see a bull bison walking up the drainage. The hunting season is the subject of much controversy. We were told that this bull was wounded―we noticed that he did had a strange manner about him as he walked along. Apparently shot by a young boy, the Buffalo Field campaign was filming the plight of this animal and its pursuers. If and when this one is killed this will be the 9th taken on the Gardiner end of Montana. In the afternoon we headed up to Gary Holland's Gallery up in Pray for their holiday open house. Driving up the East River Rd. the mountains were austere and wintry in all their glory. Colored in an overcast blue-gray, mixed with a touch of deep purple, the mountains were sponged into nothingness amid the low slung clouds. Turkeys were seen along the East Rd! We spotted 6 of the big birds walking through the shallow valley snow and were told later that there are about 30 that now inhabit that area since being brought in 3 years ago. 11/17/05 It's white out! Last night we got ~2-3" of snow; the very light fluffy sort. The foothills of Sepulcher Peak to the south, who's slopes had been straw-colored grass mixed with white, and dappled with the color of motor oil and olive junipers in days past, has all transitioned into a muted grayish white in the early morning light. In walking Jenny to work this morning―we played fetch with Jasper as we walked. Each time the red rubber ball would disappear in the powder and off the black dog would go. Time and time again he would come back from a retrieve to find we were greeted by an older dog! Jamming his muzzle into the snow he'd return with 'gray hairs' on his face. So it went, Jasper aging with each retrieve, rejuvenating himself with a shake, slipping, falling into his elderly years and graying along his flanks and legs only to be reborn with a youthful shake of a 16 month old Lab. This is the first day that the plows have made the run down the Jardine Road and we halted Jasper in order to let it pass. In doing so they made the road as slick as grease on glass; we slipped as we crossed it on foot. In fact, on the walk back the police were parked there directing people around that corner at a snail's pace. It's a wonder that had an accident hadn't occurred. ¶ At the Arch Park Jasper and I played fetch under the watchful eye of a mule deer doe. She was bedded on the hillside just inside the Park border. All that was visible through the snow and sage was here face, neck, and 'radar dishes'. Jasper sprinted time after time so as to tire him out (so I could get some work done at home later) and the deer watched on. When a respectable mule deer buck chased 5 does through that area she opted to join their gallivant. The sounds of their nasal, reedy bleats could be heard as they went over the hill the way they had come... the mating season is still in for mule deer it seems. 11/16/05 This morning and the whole day for that matter were overcast. The skies proved their intentions true during the night-time hours with our first real accumulation of snow. Temperatures were actually up today―a blazing 25°F when we got up for breakfast. Bulked some more clay onto the wolf piece and will soon need to start fine tuning the forms and texture between the reference points on the armature. ¶ I moved the metal bowl off the deck after heating the meat scraps with warm water to soften them up for the birds. I think this helped in both respects as Jasper and I could sit on the couch and watch the magpies come in, albeit cautiously still, and fill their crops with meat and tallow. Nearly all of the trimmings from the deer are gone now. 11/15/05 Blustery it was not today―at least not in the morning, but the temperature on our wall thermometer in the kitchen read a grand total of 4°F when we got up in the morning. Magpies and ravens have neglected to eat the remaining scraps of meat set out on the deck railing. I wonder if this was due to the close proximity of the shiny metal bowl holding the remaining meat. I moved it but they still haven't come back... is it the cat behind the sliding glass door? It didn't seem to bother them the first morning. ¶ Worked a fair bit on bulking Wolf 21 up in all his life-sizedness. With the exception of the belly and legs, he is totally skinned in that terra cotta-colored plastecine clay. ¶ Jenny got a new Woolrich coat that we had to 'try out' in the evening. So we took Jasper for a walk and to play fetch. When we got to the Latter Day Saints church yard (where we often play fetch with Jasper) we instinctively threw the ball for him not realizing that through the darkness was a pair of bedded cow elk. They instantly jumped their feet and the one started after Jasper―and she was on top of him before we knew what was happening. Somehow he managed to escape becoming cow elk toe jam as I yelled and waved my arms to scare her away from him... Needless to say we felt bad for disturbing them and for putting our child in danger like that. We picked up our toys and went home... the jacket worked great :) ¶ Today was also the first day of Montana's first buffalo hunt in 15 years. Lots of media was in town―in fact it took me a moment to realize what was going on this morning when I saw the television truck, complete with 'mega-dish' on the back parked at Jim Halfpenny's Track Museum. Apparently the first, and only? bison was harvested by a 17 year old boy from Belgrade, MT. 11/14/05 The word blustery was invented to describe weather like we have today. In the pre-dawn light of the Gardiner, in the orangey, downward glow of the street lamps we could see what looked like bed sheets whipping about on a flimsy clothesline. They weren't sheets and there was not clothesline―it was snow being gusted through town on the nose of a sharp weather front. This is the first day that I donned 3 layers, a rain coat with hood―and actually wore it up, a knit hat, AND gloves, when I walked with Jenny and Jasper to her office across town. I didn't even wear gloves hunting yesterday... Accumulations of snow amounted to ~1.5". I set the scraps from our deer processing out on the railing of the deck for the magpies. we had about 8lbs that I diced up into magpie-sized pieces. When the cat's tail started switching (from the inside of the sliding glass door, of course) and she began those funny cat-mouthing-noises, I knew we had our first taker... the first of those beautiful clowns in black & metallic, white, and the long tail tacked on sidled up to the plate. Within minutes, it and its compatriots had the food consumed, and like a good host at Halloween, I took the candy bowl back out and spread another buffet on the board atop the deck railing. More magpies, more cat noises... oh, ravens now too... one flew by with a tallow streamer hanging from it's chisel-like bill. A flock of trumpeter swans flew over today and while I was working in the yard a few adults and a mottled gray and white juvenile conversed on the wing as they soared around town and over the River. I had to stop and stare blindly up, dumbfounded, as one adult flew right over the house only 30 yards up. The sounds of of its wings could be heard shooshing through the air. Its feet struck me too―like two broad, blunt coal shovels trailing along for landing gear―tucked neatly up against those ivory plumes. As my gaze ventured upward again another adult pair swung through the air with those great necks outstretched looking like two alabaster mixing spoons―handles pointed forward. In the distance I could also hear the exuberant trilling and twittering of the Bohemian waxwings. Their numbers in town have swelled with the coming of snow to the higher elevations. A few flocks I only guess to have 200-300 birds and others likely have this a few times over. Masses of them flying as one bubbly organism careen through the trees, alleys and rooftops of Gardiner. 11/13/05 This was Jenny's first time hunting for big game―deer in fact. She wasn't sure if this was for her and I allowed that even if we did get a deer in the sights, there was no obligation that she should pull the trigger. We could just have a nice walk-about and have a great day at that. North of town where we hunted offered a wide-spanning view of all of northern Yellowstone, the Valley, town, all of it. It was one of those days that deer move all day long, cold, overcast, but a little windy. Someone was already in the spot we intended to park/hunt so we went further on and went for a hike. All told we spotted ~30 deer and among them were 3 bucks. Two of the latter were very close and Jenny made a good decision not to shoot as she was more than able/willing but the speed at which things happened and some grasses and other small obstructions made a clear, killing shot questionable. This was the only day that we would have to hunt together before I go back to NY so we would try in the afternoon as well. ¶ Instead of 10-12 cars passed along the way to our hunting grounds we only passed 3 in the afternoon. There were only 2 hours to hunt before shooting hours officially ended. On we went to where the one nice buck was seen in the morning but the wind had change making the spot a sham for anyone wishing to get close to an animal with the scent detector of a deer. To say there was a wind would be misleading―yes, the air was moving but it was a still. Snow fell in a fluid manner like that of a dime store snow globe. The light was even a bit ethereal―it was dark, but not dark. Overcast skies broke over the park, and although gray and flat as the light was around us, that mountains of Electric, Sepulcher, Bunsen and Norris were doused in salmon-tinted squalls of snow stretching down in veils. It turned into a nice walk, no deer, but togetherness. On the economics of hunting: It has been said by detractors of the shooting sports that meat procured does not pay for itself and basically just plain costs more than if you bought meat in a store. So, for the past 2 years we have kept track of the expenses and the return of meat for our hunting efforts. And since we just processed the mule deer buck that I got last week, the topic is ever more poignant. Here's the rundown: Ammunition (fired 6 rounds to sight the gun in... it was off for some reason since last year, and 1 to kill the deer, for a total of 7 rounds; at $19.99/20 rounds/box), mileage at $0.40 cents a mile (at an undisclosed mileage... I can't tell you exactly where we were now!), $12.58 for the ziploc bags to package the meat, and $21.25 for the hunting license―that all comes to $47.35. Dividing this across the 59.5 lbs of boneless meat taken from this 2.5 year old deer we get a figure of $0.79/lb. So for a time investment of 3 hours to shoot, field dress, and remove the deer from the field, about an hours driving time, and 3 hours of butchering time (with the help of our good friends Rebecca and Jonmikel Pardo), the benefits of time with friends, imbibing the good tidings of our local environment, and clean healthy meat... I think we got a pretty good deal. 11/9/05 - 11/11/05 A college visit for Jenny to Moscow, ID. She is considering graduate school so I went with her to check the town and school out. It's a long drive... just over 1,000 miles there and back. While she was in meetings and visiting during the day on the 10th I wandered around town with Jasper and looked for art galleries and drove out to the town of Pullman, WA― it's only 11 miles down the road to the west. With Veteran's day nothing seemed to be open including UWA's Art Museum. So I did some sketching of a church in town near the Town Hall and a few other things around campus to pass the time and experience the place. That night we drove up to Coeur d' Alene, ID and stayed in the Pink Flamingo Hotel... woooo, woooo!!! We were in the golfing motif room AND it had a vibrating bed! It only cost a quarter for more agitation that you'd ever want to get from a sleeping surface! There was a great art walk in town that night and after the culinary desert that Moscow is, it was nice to find ourselves with dining choices. We had Japanese. The next day we stopped at the Coeur d' Alene gallery as Jenny had never seen friend Tim Shinabarger's work anywhere but in the foundry and then headed for home. The drive home seemed much longer than the one out there for some reason...
11/9/05 Damn it's COLLLLLLDDDDD. Well, in the grand scheme of things, NO, it's not cold. It's only 14degrees F, BUT it seems like it's worse given this is the first good bit of chill we've had in a spell. At 04:30 going down to work on the wolf sculpture the skies are clear as a bell, nothing inhibits my sight of the stars above or the heat from leaving the valley. 11/7/05 - 11/8/05 Working away on the life size wolf 21 sculpture... that's all there seems to be besides Jenny, Jasper, eating... and, is there anything else? Got to the point of 1/4 of him being covered in clay. 11/6/05 Brought a wonderful old piano home today. It's Jenny's most recent musical acquisition. Jenny bought it from some folks up in Mammoth Hot Springs. It was quite an experience getting it into the truck and then out and into the house... but it sounds great! Jenny is tickled pink. I worked for some time on the life size wolf 21 and managed to get all the foam for the base laid down and glued in place. Tomorrow I'll try to get the main part of his body bulked up. 11/5/05 Took care of friends cats near the old town site of Cinnabar outside of Gardiner. Pronghorn abound in the desert-like flats- several bucks and does. One buck even looked as thought it had shed one of its horns owing to the 'one long, one short' look of his headgear. Snowy Electric Peak stands majestic in stone and alabaster white. The view was made even better by the fact we were watching it from their hot tub :) 11/4/05 There's snow... even in Gardiner. There is a thin skiff of snow overall in the valley and more as the summits climb. Jenny and I reduced our dependence on store-bought meat today by harvesting a fine mule deer up on the National Forest. A bittersweet affair, it felt good however to bring this deer home. I made my standard series of measurements and sketches of this buck so perhaps he will live life eternal in bronze or some other medium in addition to feeding us for the coming year.
11/3/05 The weather has changed... it started to rain last night and did so throughout the evening until this morning where it turned to snow right before our eyes as Jenny and I had breakfast. 11/2/05 WINNNNDDY has been the word for the last few days here in Gardiner. Seems like the weather is in for a change. These should be studio notes as I've been spending much of my time in Jim Halfpenny's new Track Museum as he was kind enough to let me start sculpting on the life sized Wolf 21 there... it was too big for the studio in the house. When walking down to the Museum heard an abbreviated elk bugle and looked down the street toward the gas station and there were about 6 elk standing in a bunch there! Mule deer have been all around town including a small buck that has a bit of a badminton net wound around his antlers.
************Trip to England/Lecture for UK Wolf Conservation Trust 10/20/05-10/28/05 Day 1―Spent most of this in transit... jumping off of on plane and onto another―Bozeman to Cincinnati, Cincinnati to Newark, Newark to Glasgow. Boy it's amazing how absolutely exhausted you can get from sitting on one's butt for so long. Made some sketches in the airport to take advantage of the time at hand.
Day 2―Traveling actually extended over into "tomorrow" largely due to the overnight trans-Atlantic flight. The final leg of the trip was flying from Glasgow to Exeter where my ever so generous host, Kirsty Peake had arranged to pick me up. Kirsty and her husband Alan have been on several Yellowstone programs with me through the Yellowstone Association Institute and have sponsored this trip to of course visit them at their home in Dartmoor National Park in Devon, but to also lecture on Yellowstone and Yellowstone wolf ecology.
Day 3―MORE TO COME AS I GET MY NOTES ONLINE FROM THE TRIP!
Dartmoor is in the far south-western portion of the UK between Exeter and Plymouth; expanded map of area on right
BELOW ARE SOME SKETCHES THAT WILL SOON HAVE TEXT FILLING IN BETWEEN FOR EXPLANATION...
*********************************************************************** 10/19/05 Stopped in to show the Wolf Project folks the 5.5" and 11" castings of 21 that I just picked up from the foundry... they were met with glowing reviews. Also doing some research on Wolf 21M and Wolf 42F for the upcoming life size sculptures and was pleased to find that there were body measurements of these wolves before their deaths―measurements of 42F were taken in 1999 and 21M in 2002 when they were last handled. I hope to incorporate these into the final life size pieces of the two of them. 10/17/05 Got out in the field today with friends-of-friends Matthew and Diana Peterson from back east in West Virginia. The day treated us well as we got looks at a grizzly way up on Specimen Ridge on a carcass, 5 of the Slough wolves, and while hiking up to the hilltop to view the aforementioned, we flushed about 12 Hungarian Partridge! This is the first I've seen these small ground birds in Lamar. 10/16/05 Today's a day to play. It's up Mill Creek we go. Took Jasper and hunted a bit for our dinner. Beautiful blue skies greeted us with the mid-ground dressed in plumbeous mountains dappled in remnant snow. 10/15/05 Got back from a trip to NY to see family and Jenny and I jumped right into cleaning the house and sheds... need to clear the slate, re-organize, and especially... MAKE ROOM. Whole day eaten up... 10/7/05 Jenny and I hiked with the pup up Eagle Creek amid the patchy snow and early morning light. As the sun rose it became mealy. Jenny found a bear's day bed complete with a few scats. 10/6/05 Hunted up Eagle Creek again with Jasper. Flushed one bird but didn't connect on it. I just keep hoping to reinforce his training. The three of us are racing the light. Magenta reflections of twilight color Bunsen Peak in the Park. Matching mares tail clouds grace the horizon to the west and Electric Peak is trimmed in the most magnificent light which contrasts greatly against its jagged silhouetted form. This is all as peaceful as anything I can imagine. A northern harrier flies by low and quite. Had a Yellowstone Association Institute Instructor meeting this afternoon. Lee Whittlesey (Yellowstone Park historian) and so I asked him two nagging, history-related Yellowstone questions that had come up in classes: 1) Is is true that the lawns of Mammoth Hot Springs were covered in topsoil? Answer is YES, in 1901 Hiram Chittenden trucked in topsoil from the bench north and west of Mammoth (Elk Park area where the Old Gardiner Rd. flattens out behind the Hotel). Before this is was just exposed/degraded travertine terrace like everything else in the area. Apparently it was very dusty when horses and people stirred the talc-like dust and so the change was made, AND so the grass that attracts the elk to the Mammoth area, and makes the rut so interesting, has a good foothold... as long as they keep watering it. 2) What is, or was the old-looking cabin behind all of the Administration buildings (on your right as you drive past the Mammoth Post Office to Gardiner)? Answer is that this was the postmasters cabin built in 1895 and has been rumored to be the oldest building still standing in Mammoth Hot Springs. The truth is that some buildings in Mammoth were erected prior to this (near the Chapel) that predate this cabin by 3-4 years. 10/5/05 Wolves of Yellowstone Class - day 3 of 3. On a whim we stopped at the Boulder pullout in Lower Lamar Valley. As we scanned for wolves a voice in the group announced, "there's one!" We all trained our eyes and binoculars on the spot of interest. And there at the Buffalo Ford on the north side of the Yellowstone was a sow grizzly and 2 cubs. They were all very dark and took the magnification of the spotting scopes to confirm their identity. In the opposite direction were 4 mule deer way-way up on Specimen Ridge running for the summit above the petrified trees. We watched for some time as their dark, speck-like forms moved up the snowy ridge but we never found anything chasing them. It's chilly out and this morning is very still. Bull elk are still bugling.
sketch of mule deer on Specimen Ridge 10/4/05 Wolves of Yellowstone Class - day 2 of 3. We had good viewing of the Slough Creek wolf pack (11 in all) which were bedded in the old Druid Peak Pack rendezvous site. A very impressive bull moose crossed the road from the north and gave quite a show as he strolled across Lamar to the south. He had extraordinarily white antlers and a very long bell, or dewlap.
field sketch of bull moose and bedded Slough Pack wolf Jasper has found his nose! Jenny and I took him up to Eagle Creek after work today and while hiking the barren foothills his nose went to the ground and he started in with the 'helicopter tail'. Jenny started to call him back as he strayed a bit farther from us. I said, "no, let him go..." And wouldn't you know, the characteristic cry of a Hungarian Partridge could be heard and as we looked, about a dozen birds flew over our heads with Jasper barreling down the hill in tow. Could you be any more proud of you child :) Also flushed (us, not Jasper) a great horned owl near the creek. Apparently not wanting to leave the security of the riparian area, it bounced around the tree tops-keeping an eye on us. What magnificent birds... and completely silent! 10/2/05 Rain, persistent rain is falling on the metal roof home of Ed and Melissa. What a perfect morning to laze about and do nothing! Sleeping in, we only rose to fulfill the needs of our early-bird Lab and jumped back under the covers. Our hosts did the same. Eventually we rose long enough to have breakfast burritos of the left-over grouse from fajitas the night before and went back to doing not much at all. Big plans of early departure for us and housework for them melted in the soft pats of rain and low-slung clouds all around. 10/1/05 In Driggs, ID. Jenny rousted me awake from a sound sleep to see the Tetons. The pre-dawn light was backlighting the Tetons in an unspeakable fashion with a crescent moon balanced directly over the Grand. A blue-black sky accentuated the moon's unlit portion with a wispy halo of quicksilver. Scattered lights of Driggs in the distance underlined it all giving footing the jagged toothy Tetons. After all had awaken and Jasper had a chance to harass Magpie―Ed & Melissa's black and white Siamese cat―we had a relaxing breakfast and chatted over eggs and cereal. Ed and I went to town to buy a "sharpie stamp" so that I could hunt sharp-tailed grouse with him in the grasslands surrounding their place. It was nice to see Ed and Melissa on their home ground. They had been at our place twice―sleeping on the studio floor―while teaching their day hiking class for the Yellowstone Institute, but we hadn't seen them here since last winter. We all had finished up a long summer season of guiding, teaching and adventuring, and felt just content to sit still and take the day as it came. On this day, Jasper's 6th hunt, we took 2 female sharptails (a double he flushed- my first was well as Jasper's) and a female Hungarian Partridge (also our first). The latter had several bright green grass clippings in it's crop along with 2 Acritid grasshoppers, the former had grain, that I forgot to ID, in one and the other had nothing. In the afternoon we walked the dog in some other grouse cover near the house only to flush out a beautiful long-eared owl! Jenny got some wonderful photos as the long, lean bird perched right over us and sat stately and calm―watching the dog below and turning its head to monitor the alarmed cheep notes of American robins. It almost looked deflated, compressed from the sides. We're so used to seeing birds look pudgy and at least full-breasted, yet this is how they are. It's piercing yellow eyes, pupils rung wide in the dark forest, shown out against its brown, cryptic plumes. What a gift indeed. Oregon grapes abound this year as do the wild Rose hips. Ed and Melissa, Jenny and I filled one of the quart-sized water bottles of theirs with grapes for preserves. The bursting fruits made a blood-like stain on the skin of which Melissa had the most. She gave a mock scream and held up her stained fingers and palms as if in a horror flick and making us all giggle a bit. Rivers of smokey aspen-gold lined the small local drainages in rivers of color... what a wonderful time of year to be out. 9/30/05 Hunting for grouse with Jasper took us up near Jardine this afternoon. Friend Don McDougal went along for the exercise. He had just come back from his summer stint as a bear ranger for the Forest Service on Admiralty Island in Alaska. Our stroll up and back down the drainage produced little in the way of hunting opportunities but it was just enough to be out. Jasper was taking hand signals like a champ at 14 months and staying close like I wanted him. Once back to the truck we took a short trip further down the drainage and on a 'send' Jasper pushed a nice male 'ruff' out at close range. I took it on the second shot. To preserve this great bird for eternity I took a full set of anatomy measurements back at the truck. In it's crop and gizzard were several Oregon grapes and Wild Rose hips. Did some sketching of the bull elk with their harems in Mammoth this afternoon. I drew from the truck window with my sidekick, Jasper, in the passenger seat next to me. I reclined the seat so that he could lay somewhat flat and snooze... what a good kid :) Jenny and I left for our friends Melissa Pangraze and Ed Schauster's place in Driggs, ID. It has been a long spell since we last saw them at their place west of the great Teton Range. I also had motives of trying Jasper on some the grouse down their way now that he is old enough. The first bit of our trip was a chore. Just getting out the Park seemed a difficult task. We were stuck in a 1.5hour traffic jam in Gibbon Canyon by a group of ~40 buffalo. Tensions flared among drivers and Jenny and I thought that we might get to see a potential fist fight between the two motorists. One passed the other, darted in behind us to the sound of blaring horns and shouting. The 'passer' flipped the 'passee' the bird, and once at the next standstill, the latter jumped out to shout obesities at the former who threatened to get out of his car... never a dull moment in Yellowstone. As poetic justice goes, the 'flipper' jackknifed his car in the road, turned 180° and spun out returning the direction we had all come―only 4 minutes before we cleared the jam. 9/28/05 Jenny and I spent the after-work hours hunting for ruffed grouse with Jasper up along Eagle Creek. The bouquet of cured grass and other plant stems solidly brings in the sensations of autumn. We did flush one bird but no shots were fired. 9/27/05 While sitting at our table for breakfast, looking over the Yellowstone River and town (Gardiner) an osprey flew over. It just caught my attention as I have not seen many osprey in the days leading up to this. It was almost like this was the final emissary of the species. It was giving a sendoff before the it followed the rest on their southerly route. The bird, with its long dark wings and white underbelly, circled right outside the window and slightly above. Ed Schauster, a house guest and friend from Driggs, ID, and I had to crane our necks to see it as it circled up and up and ultimately beyond our view of the upper sill. Fall is setting in! 7/14/05 I spent the day with Patty Ellis doing a group tour of the lower loop of the Park today. Sunny, hot―I'm from central New York―cloud country. All this sun frazzles me. Doesn't seem to bother the bison in Hayden Valley though. They are staging for the rut to come. The large bulls, who've remained solitary or in their bachelor groups all summer and spring are now starting to intermingle with the cows and calves. There is an energy building that almost be felt as one watches the herd move. One group of bison stuck out from a dead run―nearly full speed―out of the south end of Hayden. Nothing chasing... perhaps an ebullition of energy for things to come? There was also the most remarkable rainbow at the bottom of the Lower Falls of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone this morning. Both Patty and I were both stopped in our tracks at the sight. It covered the entire plunge pool area of mist―one remarkable thing to come of the bright sun I must allow :) ______________________________________________________________________________________ 7/8/05 Canoe of Lewis/Shoshone Lakes Day 1―Friday Today was a wonderful release from the summer bustle. Jenny, myself, Jonmikel & Rebecca Pardo, Dave Bell and Sarah Richey all drove down to Lewis Lake in the wee hours of the morning to paddle Lewis and Shoshone Lakes. Clear skies and a cool western breeze greeted us at the boat launch. There were just enough mosquitoes in the still air of the launch to keep one busy. Rescue, rather search crews were gearing up for the day as well. They are still looking for the gentleman that overturned in his canoe on Lewis some days ago. He had apparently chose to tackle the wide open expanse of Lewis Lake during one of its famous, late-afternoon blows. The latter can easily muster 2-4' whitecaps―this was apparently the case on that fateful day. Hopes of a rescue in the chilly waters are long past and it has transitioned into a recovery. A green canoe sits next to the cement boat ramp. A chrome-plated ring, its a rope attachment was positioned low on the point of the bow―near the water line―as this makes it better for dragging behind another boat. A 7' Carhart-colored, canvas bag and rope lie next to the boat. Just a little reminder from the Park, I guess, to make good decisions on the water. With our gear loaded, and Jonmikel & Rebecca, Dave & Sarah having showed up from a side trip to the Grant Village store for extra beer, we shoved off at ~08:45. A few cars on the main loop road could be seen as we paddle away. The calls of juncos, red-breasted nuthatch, and a Swainson's thrush faded soon and were replaced with the lapping of water on the boats. A helicopter soon ferried in and started circling low over the north-eastern side of the lake. So low in fact that the blades kicked up spray that curled up and back in like a silvery, bobbed hairdo in the morning light. This was to no avail as we would later find out. Jenny wondered out loud as to whether you would know, or have some weird feeling on the morning you awoke before your impending death. I suppose you could but you could just as easily not. The inlet, and channel between Lewis & Shoshone was reached at ~09:20. Plying the waters inside we marveled at the clear water below us. Rainbow trout cruised about beneath the glassy window of liquid between us and the family of golden-eye ducks, momma and 12 chicks paddled, about and then hopped up on a floating pine log (sketch below). The waters narrowed and became more swift as the canoes began to skid upon gravel and rock.
7/9/05 Canoe of Lewis/Shoshone Lakes Day 2― Saturday Today was a wonderful release from the summer bustle. Jenny, myself, Jonmikel & Rebecca Pardo, Dave Bell and Sarah 7/10/05 Canoe of Lewis/Shoshone Lakes Day 3― Sunday Today was a wonderful release from the summer bustle. Jenny, myself, Jonmikel & Rebecca Pardo, Dave Bell and Sarah ______________________________________________________________________________________ 7/7/05 Prickly Pear Cactus blooming in bursts of pastel yellows around the north entrance to the Park. Hot day down at Old Faithful while guiding a trip. Cliff swallows careen about through the air and land in their mud nests clinging to the eves of the visitor center building. A HUGE bull bison was bedded next to the back door of the Old Faithful Inn. I was compelled to warn more than one person that walked up too close, i.e. less than 10yds, &/or put their child closer for a photo... I guessed there to be at least 800 people on and around the boardwalk waiting for the eruption of Old Faithful today. 7/6/05 Worked all day to try to finish the reduction of the wolf 21 sculpture... got hot today. The thermometer in the shade of the house's north side read 95 degrees F this afternoon. 7/5/05 Working hard to finish a new sculpture... actually 2 of the same piece of wolf 21M entitled "Border Patrol". Need to meet the deadline so that the foundry has time to mold and cast it. Jenny and I took Jasper up along Eagle Creek north of Gardiner this afternoon. Flowers are incredible! Blooming species include, but not limited to: Phlox, lupine, larkspur, bluebells, buttercup, Alium, Helianthela, sticky geranium, chickweed, wild buckwheat, forget-me-not, valerian, bistort, prairie smoke (some going to seed), arrow-leafed balsamroot, dandelion, death camas, Evert's thistle, and stonecrop. Jasper also succeeded in flushing his first blue grouse too! We were very proud parents :) The hills of Sepulcher Peak in the Park are starting to show hints of ochre and burnt sienna where green so recently stood. 7/4/05 HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!! Spend the early part of the day birding in the northern portion of the Park with Dan, Cassie, and Kelly Hartman. We had a wonderful morning amid the flowers and sunny meadows... that are still all green believe it or not - though we'll still need a few more years of this to undo any effects of the drought. We had a courting pair of black bears in on of the meadows we were in. They acknowledged us but kept on with their persistent grazing. Salmon flies are out along the Yellowstone River in big numbers. Walking the dog across the bridge in Gardiner we found oodles of them squished on the pavement. Jasper had to stop and inspect each one... he at the the first and apparently didn't find the same degree of relish for them that the trout do - he kept it to a sniff-check after that :) 7/3/05 WOW! The first posting in some time... now that things are settling down in some respects I can leave some notes here for your viewing. Jenny, myself and friends are going canoeing on the Yellowstone today. Sunny bright days around here have been punctuated with afternoon thundershowers for the last few weeks... things are actually still green in places; even the hills of Sepulcher Peak across the valley from our house.
Click to see Field notes from 2008 Click to see Field notes from 2007 Click to see Field notes from 2006 Click to see Field notes from 2005 Click to see Field notes from 2004
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