September is quickly approaching~ and with it I bring you two new FREE calendars.. I have uploaded them a bid differently this time.. so don’t forget to click on the small icon to make your choice..
September Brings the mournful call of the rutting elk.. it brings snow to the high country and cool mountain breezes..
To download either or both of these FREE desktop calendars
(Remember there are little icon below the main photo~ make your choice there)
Please enjoy your July Free Desktop Calendars~
This month I bring to you two options.. one made from a calf elk from the North
and the other is a Sea Turtle from the South~ Both unique and beautiful creatures who survive in very different wilderness’
Just click the links below to download your Free calendar today.. and feel free to spread the word and share with your friends and family~
Yes, I am excited.. Spring here in the NW just didn’t seem to want to show its shiny beautiful face this year.. rain, cloudy.. and cool days..
I was afraid that we were going to leave for vacation and I would not be able to witness any of the deer or elk babies being born.. Yesterday morning as we were doing things around the house..I glanced out the window and spotted a cow elk on the ridge.. something just didn’t seem right, but looking through the scope.. It all became more than right.. it was perfect! Even though they were too far off for photos.. my family enjoyed watching as this beautiful creature nursed her calf.. This morning .. there are 5 adult cow elk standing on the same sage covered hill side.. and though I have not spotted where they are hiding their babies.. It does my heart well to know that they are there~ finally! And I got to get pictures after all, before we leave~ Thank you Mother Nature for once again sharing those little miracles of life.. and for allowing us to share them with our children.. and the rest of the world~
Headed to town, I spotted another calf that had been hidden in a draw off of the highway my it’s mother..
this little one did not listen too well and was up investigating the world..
We sat along side the highway with our son, watching this beautiful calf, laughing at his antics
.. and listening to the cars zip by.. totally unaware of what they where missing..
Took this photo of these four lovely ladies as they crossed high on the ridge line above me last month.. they stopped for a moment to try and catch my scent before turning and disappearing over the rise…. their swollen bellies are tell tale signs of the calves that should be being born any day now..
I am really looking forward to seeing the babies, elk, deer, antelope … I love spring and am always excited about finally spotting the first baby every year..
Each Autumn when the days begin to shorten, nature sends out a silent signal to all who will listen,that the long cold days of winter will soon be returning. For the wild creatures, this is a time to prepare. In early Fall the unmistakable matting call of the Wapiti echoes from the high mountain meadows as they claim victory and call a challenge to any who would try to take their place as king of these high places. The Majestic mule deer begin their journey out of the high country in search of a mate.. and the whitetail congregate along the river bottoms all intent on the regeneration of their species..
This year was a bit different however.. this year, as the temperatures dropped, and the call of the bull elk was beginning to fade for another season. I got a call from a friend, asking me if we had seen the white elk. A white elk? Many of the locals had witnessed this beautiful, special creature and though the area is open for hunting it is still on private property, and the majority of the land owners quickly let the word out that anyone who killed the white elk would never be welcome to hunt these lands again. The chances of actually coming across a white elk in the wild is very slim and their chance of survival is even less. I spent a few days in the area with our children hoping to see the elk, and hoping even more that I would be able to get a photo of this rare beauty.. But it was not meant to be. One early morning during hunting season we got up on the mountain well before light, but the temperature had dropped much colder than I had anticipated so I decided that -14 degrees F was entirely to cold for our youngest son to climb the mountain with out extra long johns and gloves to protect him from the cold and I handed over my warmer coat, gloves and hat to our oldest child and sent him out with his dad, while I took the younger child and drove back down the valley to photograph the rutting whitetail deer.
As they reached the top of the ridge they came across several hundred head of elk feeding towards the timber, the sound of the hooves on the frozen earth echoed across the valley mingling with their calls on this crystal cold morning.. As the golden rays of the early morning sun shone down on the mass of tawny bodies, the elk turned as one and moved up the hill like ants. Just before they reached the timber they split into two groups, as they split, the white elk appeared right in the opening left by moving herd.. The elk stopped for a moment and just stood there.. frosty breath rising on the cold mountain air… and in a moment the elk came back together and they lost sight of the white elk as the herd disappeared into the timber.
I did not have much time to spend in that area in search of the white elk, and though I was unable to photograph him (or her) this year. There is always hope for next year.. I did take photos of the herd.. and for those who did not lay eyes on this magical creature themselves, there is always the thought.. is it a ghost or a myth? I have been asking and no one has seen the white elk for a couple months now, but I have hope that when the warm spring winds return to this valley, and the snow melts that once again this ghost elk will be spotted, and as the cow elk split off to find quiet secluded places to have their calves… just maybe.. in a high mountain valley full of fresh spring grass a cow elk will give birth to another ghost elk.
Though a part of me wishes that I had been able to see and photograph the white elk amongst it’s herd that cold morning on the mountain. The mother in me is so very grateful that our son, soon to be a man himself was able to stand on that mountain side and witness his own rare miracle of nature.
(The photo above, is of calves in the same herd. I did not notice the white markings on the chin until I viewed the photos on my computer at home…. Just a little hope!)
A random assortment of photos I have had stored on my computer for a while now….
North American Coyote~ Canas Latrans
Elk in early morning sunrise~ wapiti (Cervus canadensis)
NW USA~ mule deer in my front yard. (Odocoileus hemionus)
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) is a wild goose which is native to Arctic and temperate regions of North America
Beartooth Mountains after a High country snow storm
Early morning Canoe ride last summer ~
Digger
Little Red Thunder Woman
Common Merganser
Mule Deer.. floppy ear..
and sometimes you miss..
but the thought is still there and your left with a glimpse of something beautiful
The scent of a lady on the wind would probably not be noticed by the average male. We humans hardly react to the delicate advances of a female through a sensory attack on our noses. Or do we? I can personally say that a woman walking into the room trailing the scent of lavender or coconut always alights my primal response to natural scent. However a lady bathed in the finest fragrance from a bottle, can and will put my sinuses into a sneezing and often eye watering fit that hardly goes unnoticed.
The movement of a woman’s hair blowing in a soft breeze or the tantalizing sway of her body white trying to entice a male of the species into noticing her will rarely be ignored. Scent plays a vital role in our courtship and everyday dealings with one another, we as a society have learned to beat down our primal urges toward lip curling and public displays of interest when meeting the opposite sex. Thankfully we don’t have to watch the gestures of human males posturing and showing off to try and attract a mate. And ladies would never be caught flashing doe eyes at a male or displaying their obvious wiles in public. No, we humans are far removed from our animal counterparts, we hardly notice the lingering scent of our mate on the evening breeze, or the subtle touch of her hand upon ours. We could hardly admit to eye contact across a crowded room or noticing the graceful movements of the opposite sex while in motion. Thankfully we have come so far, our animal urges, instincts, and desires are carefully under wraps, there can be no doubt that we are more human than animal. Well enough about that, I smell lavender on the air, and feel my lip beginning to curl, yep some of us will never evolve.. Thank fully for some of us the animal instinct is alive and well.. Hawk
Very excited to reveal the second Cover photo to be published.. Look for your copy in stores now…
My wife and I stand on a windswept ridge; she takes pictures of this majestic warrior foraging among the alder and red willows. His snow covered body and long tined antlers are a stark contrast to the snow and northerly winter winds. Yet somehow he blends in with the surroundings. He just seems to belong to the land, not an intruder upon the landscape like we are. I close my eyes and say a prayer for the old warrior below us. He will face many long cold days and nights, many challenges way up here in the frozen inhospitable wilds. We will be snug in our cabin through the long winter and wet spring, while he braves this place he calls home.
Come September when the first bugles echo across the land announcing the rut, this old warrior will proudly stalk the dark timber. I will be there too, a longbow in my left hand and an arrow of wood, nocked to the string, hoping for a chance at a bull like the one before me. I finish my prayer and hope that he and I never meet in the age old dance of the hunt….. but a close relative of his would be just fine by me.
