~Wyoming Wednesday~

Remembering cool mountain breezes and wide open spaces.

There is no place like home~

Not much time for words today.. have to head to the city early.. I really hate going to the city..

Too many people for me…. but I will use this Bison as inspiration, and if anyone gets to close.. or makes me mad… I can just give them the look..

Think it will work?

maybe if I had horns..

and attitude..

enjoy your day.. where ever you are..

The American Bison go into a lethargic stage in the winter to conserve energy, this by no means makes them any less dangerous.. I am very fortunate to be able to photograph some of these massive creatures from the safety of a vehicle and have done so for years.. I learned a lesson this year on a recent trip to town.. we had a meeting and a little time to kill so I asked Hawk if we could take a drive, and see if we could find the Big Horn sheep on their winter range, and to see how many bison had migrated out of the park for the winter.. It was a beautiful day shared with our youngest son.. After locating and photographing the Big Horn Sheep.. we moved on up in search of Bison..Fat and fluffy, I love taking photographs of these frosted beasts in the winter.. as we rounded a bend in the road there were 3 bison walking down the burrow pit.. but before we even got close two of them threw up their heads, tails cocked and took off at a lope down the road.. That’s not normal behavior for this time of year.. we drove on past the bison and pulled to the side of the road, I rolled down my window to capture a few photos of them coming toward us.. That is when I realized what had stirred them up.. Bison.. even lethargic bison do not like little “red” Jeep Wranglers.. ~ Go figure..

Thank you to everyone who requested the February calendar.. It is never too soon, so I am already taking requests for a featured image for the March calendar… Please don’t forget to stop by the comments section and let me know what you think.. ~Stacey

In the 19 century the Bison herds were hunted to near extinction. The American government wanted the bison herds removed from the great plains for many reasons.. One of which was to weaken the North American Indian population. Without the bison, native peoples would be forced to leave the land or starve to death. By removing their main food source our government thought to pressure the Native Americans onto reservations. So that they could continue with their plans for this great country.
The building of the railroad was a huge part in wanting the bison herds culled and even eliminated. From 1873 on there were any where from several hundred to over a thousand, commercial hide hunting outfits harvesting bison at any one time taking any where from 2,000 to 100,000 bison per day.

I found, doing my research for this post, that there is now a historian who claims that after generations of good game management on the Native Americans part, that they “played a key roll in nearly wiping out the great herds”..He claims that in 1830s the Comanche and their allies on the southern plains were killing about 280,000 bison a year. This is a significant number considering that the southern great plains where also hit by a sever drought that lasted from 1845 -1860′s. But lets focus on the facts, I don’t want my children and grandchildren learning a false history of our country.. The near demise of the Bison herds was not caused by the Native people hunting for survival..It had nothing to do with good ethical hunting practices, but by out right slaughter and at the time, hidden agenda’s.

I was at first shocked and offended that Wikipedia would even waste space for such a claim..after all the Native Americans who lived in that time, not only created (by selective use of fire) the large grasslands that provided the bison’s ideal habitat but also kept the bison population regulated through hunting.. The North American Bison were key part in the survival of these people.. they were hunters and stewards of the land, and now to have someone try to put the blame on them, because they were hunters, after all the white man did to the herds and tribes at that time is sickening…
But as I read on I noticed a connection between the hunters of long ago and the hunters of today, and I wonder once again what the “hidden agenda” is. In the last year I have found myself in MANY discussions with Animal Rights Abolitionist and Utopianist(yes there is a group of people out there who call themselves this) and as a modern day hunter, and steward of this great land we live on, I wonder what the future holds…
But for now, I will listen, and learn, and I will take my children into the outdoors. I will teach them to hunt, as well as when to put down their bows and lend a helping hand to the animals in need, as all good hunters do, and have for generations..

2000 pounds of muscle and horn, are no match for a rogue survivor.. better known as a flea..

A familiar photo to some of my returning friends, I am offering “Itch” as part of my Holiday Special..
Hurry and place your order to receive special holiday pricing.. HERE