Mosaic Monday #189: Trail Cam Treasures

We are so blessed to live on the edge of the wilderness, with all the wildlife that comes with it.  (Did you know they have a term for this?  Wildland-urban interface = a zone of transition between wilderness and land developed by human activity.  Unfortunately, the most common definition relates to increased wildfire frequency and risk.  As houses are near wildland vegetation, they are susceptible to wildfires.  I prefer to define it in terms of proximity to flora and fauna!)  So, let's cast our eyes over some of the critters that have wandered in range of my trail cam!

Elk on the move - same day as the Sandhill Crane - May 18.

Did this elk get lost?  May 29 - and look how much greener it is!

I have had many reports of the neighborhood black bear, and finally I got a shot - from the back, but better than none! (and the clock was off - this was 11 am)

A young buck in early June - he'll be searching out does pretty soon!

And this will be the result! (June 16)  This momma looks pretty skinny ...

I never cease to be amazed by the capability of the trail cam to capture motion, such as this Tree Swallow in flight on June 3.

Sandhill Cranes dance for three primary reasons:  To find a mate, to strengthen the bond between a mated pair, or to express aggression or territoriality.  Based on my experience with our Cranes over the last five years, I believe these two are "strengthening the bond" (June 4).  We could all learn from this, yes?

As you may have noticed from the photos thus far, the camera had been in two locations - the meadow you see above, and the road where I hoped to capture the bear (and I did.)  It was time to try another locale - the lake!  And it delivered in spades!

A parade of mallards.

Mallards with one Greater Yellowlegs (I welcome correction from any of the birders out there).

Three Greater Yellowlegs taking flight.

Great Blue Herons.  Jaw-dropping majestic creatures.

Speaking of majestic, check out the Trumpeter Swans and the 2 cygnets.  This is the first time (since we have lived here) that they have nested on the lake below our property.

I have written in the past (April 25, 2021; September 19, 2020) about the beaver who lives at the lake - we estimate the presence of nature's engineer has raised the water level by two feet.  I wonder sometimes how much of the wildlife we see now has been brought about because of the deeper water.

For priceless photos like the one below, I am grateful to God, the beaver, and the many factors that led us to Montana and this superlative piece of wilderness.

** I may be slow in commenting this week since we have family visiting.

**Also, Mosaic Monday will take a break on September 11 - come back and link up on September 18!

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

Mosaic Monday #132: This and That

I am on the front porch, and the birds serenade me from the trees.  I feel blessed to be alive and healthy, but thoughts of others who are not so fortunate crowd my mind.  It seems almost sacrilegious to write a post knowing others are suffering, but I speculate that most people would want me to carry on.  This may not be my most creative of posts, but a post it is.

Back in April, I borrowed a Thai Fish Curry recipe from Jan at the Low Carb Diabetic blog.  In my house, we are not too concerned about the low carb element, so we served it over rice, and had broccoli on the side.  So good!

I have volunteered at the Whitefish Historical Museum for almost three years, and in April a new sign was installed.  I think the sign will attract more visitors since it is much more obvious that there IS a museum in the Depot!  On the National Register of Historic Places, the Depot was built in 1927 by the Great Northern Railway, and shares the same architecture as other structures built by the railroad in and around Glacier National Park.

This sign caught my eye at the airport when I was on my way back from the trip to see my Mom in April.  I immediately texted it to #1 Daughter, who loves the J.R.R. Tolkien quote.  This sign fits both of us well since we are coffee fiends!

It's no surprise that spring was more advanced when I was in Ohio, and I snapped a few flowers while I was waiting to go to the airport.

Back in Montana, the trail cam was busy capturing lake wildlife.

As May progressed, flowers (and other plant life) began to emerge in Montana.

Our property borders a stream, and it is a boon for flora and fauna.  As the summer proceeds, grasses, shrubs and cattails will overtake the stream, hiding its winding flow.  Only in the spring can you get this view of the creek.

I moved the trail cam to face the meadow, and was not surprised to see many deer.  At least one of them was a young buck.  And then there is the camera-hogging sandhill crane.  I think he considers the camera his own personal selfie stick!

In the afternoon, the sun strikes the front porch just right.  Although there might be a slight nip in the air yet in May, the sun is strong and unfiltered, keeping that chill at bay.  The perfect setting to enjoy a margarita for Cinco de Mayo!

In town, which has a lower elevation than our house, flowering trees cause me to stop in my tracks.  How is it possible for one tree to have so many blooms?

A week ago, just two days after we celebrated being fully vaccinated (read: two weeks after the second shot), we hosted a dinner party with four vaccinated couples, all from our mountain Ambassador group.  One of the ladies brought these Gerber daisies.  For me, the flowers and the gesture were symbolic -- bringing color back to our lives after 12 months in the "desert" of the pandemic.  In the past, receiving flowers on such an occasion might be expected; now it brings a rush of joy and delight.  For those who might still be in the "desert", for whatever the reason, I offer these daisies as hope that better times might soon return for you. 

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

Mosaic Monday #128: Montana Spring

April in Montana is a trickster.  One day the warmth of spring sunlight on my face spreads hope and tranquility through my entire being.  The next day?  Snow, and a vicious wind tosses branches against the windows like a petulant child.  But the snow doesn't last, and all around are signs that winter is losing its grip to spring.  At the farm of Dear Neighbor Friend, the evidence takes the form of fuzzy chicks and kids teetering on brand-new legs.

DNF's grandchildren have a ring-side seat to the miracle of birth.  They quickly bond with the animals and take caring for them very seriously.  But life can be closer to death than we like, and occasionally the family must cope with the loss of an animal.  This week, one of the recently born kids passed shortly after birth.  Below you can see the remaining kid, Amelia, using her mama as a jungle gym.

Over the hill at my house, I found this freshly dug hole, and trained the trail camera there to determine the culprit.  A bunny!

Shortly after these pictures were taken, the Moultrie trail cam acted up again, and Spousal Unit bought a replacement, a Stealth trail cam at Cabela's (the one we truly want is on back order until May.)  I placed it by the lake at the bottom of our property, in the hopes of capturing eagle photos.  (In my February 7, 2021 post, I wrote about golden and bald eagles feasting on fish, and I speculated about a lake awash with dead fish as the ice melted.)  It began to appear that theory might prove true - sometimes we observed as many as ten eagles at a time on the thin edges of the ice.  The three pictures below were taken with my phone through my spotting scope.  Not great quality, but you can count as many as 3 goldens and 1 bald in one of the photos.

Unfortunately, the camera did not catch any good photos of the eagles.  By mid-month, the lake was clear of ice and I relocated the trail cam to the beaver dam, anticipating that this clever engineer would begin to repair winter's damage.   Eureka!!!

 

As the ice disappeared, other water animals have arrived - cranes, Canada geese, and mallards.

I was not familiar with the ducks below - I am sure my professional birders will tell me if Ring-Necked Duck is the incorrect identification.

As you can see in the photo above, we had some snow on the 18th - the storm I mentioned at the outset with the ferocious winds.  It was enough to raise whitecaps on the lake.

I imagine the duck in the picture below was ready to pick up its wings and return south!!!

But never fear, wait a few days, and you will be rewarded with blue skies and calm waters once again!

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