Tag Archives: nature

Sharing the Woods

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I have a problem.  I admit it.  I’m addicted to moose.  I just can’t help it.  First of all, I was raised in Phoenix.  No moose there.  When I first came to Montana I was in Whitefish, and when I had the first moose in my front yard I was hooked.  Big, gangly, goofy looking thing. And adorable.  I was lucky enough to see them a few times in Glacier National Park – browsing around, tasting trees and shrubs, dipping their noses in the ponds, comfy in their lovely surroundings.  Then after I moved to Washington I saw none.  Withdrawal was hard.  After having to spend almost 10 years in there, I was tickled to come back to Montana, but, for unknown reasons, I never saw a moose in Lake County for the 18 years I was there.  Hmmm. And then I retired and moved to Hamilton.  Wow!

I had no idea that this is moose heaven, for them and for people like me.  The river areas and all the adjoining parks are home to them.  I got here in October and saw my first one in April, posing nicely in an area that, since then, I have probably seen more than 10.   Hard not to get hooked.  I have a new walking buddy, Ralph, and he’s as addicted as I am. 

Here’s Ralph in the trees getting pictures of a bull with his good camera last week –

Here’s samples of what he got that day –

Though I can go months without seeing one, mid-winter through April and maybe none in late summer, they make up for it the rest of the time.  They are big and dark but can be hard to see.  In the spring it’s mamas and babies, sometimes twins!  Often times it’s just cows.  In the fall there are more bulls, but always cows and yearlings to watch.  The males have especially big “bells” or dewlaps hanging off their necks.  Just goofy.

I took pictures of moose 4 times this week. 

Sometimes we see families.  Such a treat.  On Thursday we were surprised when a family came out of the bushes.  They were talking to each other, something I haven’t heard before.  Kind of grunting, whining, nasally sounds.  Probably planning to tease those humans with the cameras.  You gotta watch them – they can be aggressive.  At one point the bull stepped out in front of the cow and calf, right into the trail.  Ralph and I, Coco in tow of course, ran into the alders to clear a path for him.  He watched us closely but moved on.  We giggled and loved it.

It’s a precious gift to be able to go out to the river here, barely out of town, and share the beauty and serenity with the animals that call this home – deer, birds, bears, turtles, etc., etc., etc.  The river plays soft background music and the clouds stay busy painting shadows and highlighting dramatic geology in the canyons of the Bitterroots.

I can’t think of anything to say that is particularly profound or thought provoking about loving moose, but, as is always on my mind, the preservation and protection of such precious and generous creatures needs to be foremost in our minds.  Mining and logging and too many commercial projects can lead to the reduction and desecration of this shared land.  We have to keep it “as is” – for us and for them! 

Thanks to Ralph Bangs for the fun and the pictures!

Photographer’s Heaven

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I’m a cell phone picture taker, not sure that qualifies as a photographer, but I’m still in heaven.  😊  Me and Coco go to the river every day, one of three accesses, and I take pictures every time, just can’t help it.  The river runs at the base of the Bitterroot Mountains, and the two of them put on such a good show.  Each season is awesome, and now I’m as pleased as can be to enjoy another autumn. 

There are no deep reds of anything native here, though all the local neighborhoods are splashed with shades of red maples.  Our local birch, willows, cottonwoods and dogwoods still know how to put on a show.  The colors are remarkable and can actually seem to be glowing!

Whether looking straight up through the birch or straight down, where willow leaves paper the ground artistically, there is pretty.  Just leaves floating in a backwater pond are a picture!

The angle of the sun can highlight the number of shades that yellow can come in, or back light with rays of gold.

It seems every few feet there’s another perfect composition.  How to decide?  At one access the river hums slowly by, allowing for reflections that sing out for me to capture them.

Just walking Coco to one of her favorite “get her feet wet” spots, we find scenery begging for attention.  We met a nice couple setting up to fly fish, who graciously posed for the classic Montana shot (and gave permission to use it).

Though it’s easy to enjoy this scenery alone, there are young and old, cell phones users and expensive-equipment photographers, casual walkers and dogs walking their owners out enjoying the display.  It’s fun to share and exclaim over the marvels before us, savoring what we can before the next show starts.  I hope you enjoyed it too!

Sweet Souvenirs

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It’s been too long since I’ve been to my lake west of Whitefish.  After our rainy camp out with the kayak in the van on the 4th of July, we needed a redo.

I’ve been going to this lake for over 30 years.  It’s comforting to know that some places never change, and my lake with the beaver lodge and scenic hikes has hardly changed at all – a phenomenon these days.   

I even got our favorite camping spot.  The other four spots stayed empty until late, always nice.  And this time we had exquisite weather.

I’ve just about gotten the inflatable kayak figured out.  Fast set up gets us out on the lake quickly so exploring can begin.  Not that I don’t know every curve and inset along the shore of this lake.  All my dogs have been out there with me and every time is a gift to be remembered.  This day we saw deer and ducks and a few fishermen.  The mountains put on a deep green summer show with billowy white clouds to enhance the blue sky.

For leg exercise, we did two hikes that took us back to little pocket lakes. Loons greeted us on one but the other we had to ourselves. Luckily no lions or bears. And I noticed serviceberries were ripe, early this year. I picked a few huckleberries as we trekked along but, like we found over the holiday at the spot in the Bitterroots, too small to attempt picking a good haul. But the serviceberries were prolific and fat so, yep, I picked a nice bunch, yummy souvenirs. I sang John Denver songs loudly to let the bears know I was there. So far that’s always worked and I’m sure John looks down knowing why any bears run away fast.

I always take home souvenirs.  It seems the beaver lodge is deserted, hard to know, but the lake is down enough that we could walk out and poke around on it a bit.  I always pick up an old piece of wood with beaver teeth marks and I picked a little wild mint.

A very successful camping trip – more than makes up for last time.  We did a lovely local hike right after we got home and stocked up on more berries and then the cooking began.  I’d rather have yummy syrup than jam and my efforts played out nicely.  Now we have more sweet souvenirs – memorable and edible!

Fourth of July Escape

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I know I’m in a minority, unless you consider how many pet owners have a problem with fireworks, but I don’t understand the need to make extreme noise for a week around July 4.   So I did a little research, got input from a Forest Service friend, loaded up the kayak and camping equipment, and headed into the Bitterroots, the best escape.

The trip didn’t go as planned.  Very odd on the 4th of July to have steady rain and a chill in the air.  We enjoyed the scenery on the way up though, peaceful woods, dramatic mountains, happily running creeks.  I couldn’t wait to get out in the kayak. 

And then we came to the muddy trench.  I didn’t dare try to cross it in my van.  Sometimes I really miss my Tacoma. 

So back to Lost Horse Creek we went.  We got a lovely spot, a primitive camping spot – no facilities.  And it was still raining.

We took a couple of lovely walks.  There were other campers but none of them ventured out for walks on the Forest Service roads or intriguing trails headed through the thick summer growth.  I had a jacket but Coco got soaked.  She had energy though, and enjoyed exploring new smells, holes in the ground, and the chipmunks darting into the undergrowth.  Just going through or around trails and paths to the creek, my pants were soaked.  I persisted on having fun.  The occasional king fisher flying over the creek or a flicker changing pine trees added some color to the scenery.

Surprisingly, huckleberries were prolific and ripe, very early for them.  Hillsides under the forest were thick with bushes.  The berries were too tiny for quick collection, so I just picked enough for breakfast when we got back.

I organized the van as best I could.  I have an inflatable kayak now.  With weather, no table, and wet sand and mud, I didn’t want to put it outside.  So, with both of us in the van listening to rain drum the roof, I maneuvered our camping mattress on top of the kayak, propping up corners with my suitcase, bags of food, and kayak equipment hoping for a comfortable night’s sleep.  Silly me.

Before and after:

It doesn’t get dark until after 10:00 in Montana these days.  I had plenty of food and reading material and tried to make the most of our van time.  Coco was always glad for a nap and to dry out, a bit, while I curled up with a book.  It was funny reading about the search for the Lost Dutchman Mine in the Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix – about as far away as I could imagine in that moment.

We crawled into bed during late dusk.   The rain had quit but there was no pretty sunset to finish the day.  Maybe you remember from past blogs – I used to live in the woods, several acres of pines and fir.  The sounds and fragrance are unmatched.  I miss dawns and dusks with the light filtered through the trees.  So despite the challenging circumstances, sleeping in the pines and no-firework silence was perfect!

Winter Exercise

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Winter finally arrived in Northwest Montana this month.  Big time in my little town.  Certainly beautiful.  Certainly a challenge.  Where to put all this snow!?! 

Normal walks are over for now.  Exercise comes mostly in the way of shoveling, though I have a great neighbor who keeps my driveway snow-blown clear for me.  But there’s always shoveling.  First, I had to clear paths for my little dog to do her “thing.”  At one point there were 20 inches in our back yard.  Some days her trenches had to be shoveled out 3 times.  The snow just wouldn’t stop.  And sometimes re-shoveling is necessary when the city snow plow throws snow over your freshly shoveled walk ☹

I haven’t skied or snowshoed in years but still venture out and get my exercise, always with my dog. And always after strapping on boot cleats, as the ice can be terrible and not always obvious.  Paths at river accesses get trampled pretty quickly and we love exploring the current white world, so different from the green or gold backdrops we’ve seen along the river in other months. 

Coco’s usual path to her play spot at the river hadn’t been trampled down yet the other day, but I wanted pictures of the crystals in the water so we went off road.  She’s a tough Montana girl and plunged through the snow behind me. 

And we found a bit of open water for her to get her feet wet and lap a very cold drink.  I love the pics I got.  Then we had to trudge back through our deep path to the regular trail.  It’s heavy, like wet beach sand.  It’s good for both of us 😊

I worry about ducks in our frozen canals.  Footprints are everywhere, searching, and some days there’s no open water. I guess flying around looking for open water is good exercise for ducks and geese but it must be hard. 

I know where a little muskrat lives, in a small hole inches above water level.  It’s been frozen over for 2 weeks now.  I wonder how he gets out and around and finds food?  Winter is a challenge.

Winter uses its talents differently than other seasons, changing water into art – in the water, on the ground, on roofs, dripping off roofs, on trees and windows. 

Some of it requires exercise to enjoy but it’s worth it.  Tradeoffs to everything.  I think we’ll bundle up right now and head out to see what kind of magic awaits our efforts to get there 😊

Hard Walk or Easy Walk?

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“Barring love, I’ll take my life in large doses alone—rivers, forests, fish, grouse, mountains. Dogs.” Jim Harrison

Another spectacular fall day for our river walk.  Whether here or just walking in the neighborhood, my dog forgets sometimes that we’re on a walk, not a “stop and sniff.”  I understand how it must be for a dog, with other dog smells and who-knows-what else, but we both need to keep moving, get our exercise, accumulate our miles.  It should be good exercise.   But, I must admit, she’s made me more aware of my surroundings.  Though I’m a great observer, I can hear her telling me to “stop and smell the roses.”  And at this time of year, it’s not hard to do.  Easy walks don’t burn calories but they sure are fun!

“My favorite thing is just walking in the woods. I can do it for days on end without tiring of it.”  Jim again.

The colors have been incredible – greens and golds and every shade of red and rust, blending and separating and competing with each other.  Leaves sparkle in the air as they float down, padding trails and gathering in the river.  That alone is a distraction from focused walking.  But there’s still everyday things that are too fun to ignore.  One of my favorites is duck butts 😊

There are canals running all through my town, and one park has an ever-flowing one with ducks, mostly mallards, as well as muskrats, turtles and moose.  It’s always fun to see what will be out and playing.  But there’s also beaver projects, tired cattails, naked trees, reflections, backed up leaves, and river currents with floating debris of the season.

While Coco looks for feathers floating along the edge of the river (fun to pounce on and swat around), I’ve been watching for heart-shaped rocks and I’m accumulating quite the collection.   

Snow and ice will be covering our paths in the next few days, burying autumn magic, but that’s not a bad thing.  Soon we’ll see frosted leaves, swirled ice, and frazils.  Always something to look forward to.   And always duck butts to keep me entertained!

“You can’t be unhappy in the middle of a big, beautiful river.”  More Jim.

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