Mosaic Monday #101: September Spotlight Redux

Whew.  You came back.  Without further ado, we'll pick up where we left off - the trail cam photos, deer specifically.

I love the next collage.  I know we should resist anthropomorphizing animals, but I do see a very tender look passing between the two fawns.  And the doe seems to be barely tolerating this late-season feeding session with her fawn.  Then we have two different bucks.  If you examine the left-hand photo closely, you can see the fine layer of velvet on the antlers.  Wow.  The one on the right has no velvet and appears to have more points, and these photos were only one day apart.  Fascinating.

And there's more.  I originally put the trail cam here in the hopes of capturing the beaver in action.  Early in the month, I got a shot or two, but since then the beaver engineering team has been distracted dealing with the dam (see post here).  But I got quite a few surprises, which more than made up for it.  

Montana is home to three species of weasels: short-tailed, long-tailed and the least weasel.  The least weasel does not have a black tip on its tail.  All of the weasels turn white in the winter; the short and long-tailed retain the black tips on their tails!  This is the first time I have captured a weasel on my trail cam;  I once retrieved a photo of a weasel in the winter on my neighbor's trail cam - do you remember this post?  I was also thrilled to see the muskrats; another first!  Until this photo (and quite a few others of 1 - 2 muskrats), I didn't even realize we had muskrats in our lake!

This month, we've seen a herd of elk on the hill opposite us.  A dozen strong, shepherded by a bull elk, it is a majestic sight.  Occasionally, when I have been outside in the early evening, the unique bugle call of the bull comes to my ears.  I was pleased to get the bull (at least partial shots) on my trail cam, as you can see above.   Thank goodness for the reflection - you get to see much more of him!!!

Now, sometimes people don't like surprises, and there was one set of trail cam photos that fall into that category - the orange tabby feral cat.  Another first on my trail cam, and not a happy sight.   Now, before the cat lovers get upset with me - you know I adore furbabies, but I am not enamored with the impact that cats have on our domestic birds.  One to four billion (that's B for billion) birds per year fall to the ninja talons of cats that roam outdoors.  And that's not to mention small mammals, reptiles and amphibians.  I am grateful that this is the only time I have ever seen it on my trail cam.

As I look out the window at the gray, scudding clouds, and watch the wind carry off the last of the aspen leaves, the memory of kayaking on a nearby lake seems a lifetime ago.  This particular lake is known for large pike, and #1 Son wanted to try his hand at hooking one.  I have also regularly seen kingfishers at this lake, and # 1 Son was eager to glimpse one as well.  So, off we went.

The lake was a sheet of glass, and the clouds joined the sun to form fancy reflections. 

Unfortunately, the pike did not cooperate - not a single one went for the flies that night - and the one kingfisher we spotted flew into the trees, beyond the view of our binoculars.  We had to "settle" for one beaver and  pretty panoramas!

Although the clouds have become more prevalent toward the end of the month, they have rarely dropped any precipitation.   One evening, I was out for one of my "stress-reduction" strolls.  I could have taken a million photos of the gathering clouds, reflected in the lake at the bottom of the property.

Imagine my surprise when the heavens opened.  I laughed out loud with the sheer joy of feeling the water on my skin, and I envisioned all of the plants and other living things, turning toward it with relief.   I headed home in the slanting rain, and just before I shucked off my boots and put my hand on the door handle, I turned for a final look.  A rainbow arced through the clouds.  The middle was hidden, but the ends were undimmed, seeming to touch the ends of the earth in my view.   A fitting end to the month, a promise of rain to come, a reward for patience through the drought.  What a blessing.

Mosaic Monday

Welcome to Mosaic Monday, a weekly meme where we get together to share our photo mosaics and collages.

Please include at least one photo mosaic/collage in your post.

The link will be open from 1 p.m. Sunday until 11 p.m. Tuesday (U.S. Mountain time). 

Remember to add the link to your Mosaic Monday post and not the one to your blog. 

Please link back to this post so that your readers will be able to visit and enjoy more wonderful mosaics; taking the MM blog button from my sidebar is an easy way to link back. 

As host I will visit every participant and leave a comment so that you know I stopped by. 

Please try and visit as many other blogs as you can, especially those that join in later, so that everyone's creativity can be appreciated fully. 

Thank you for joining in today and sharing your mosaics with us. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter