Heart Attack

I have not posted a snake photo for a while but this guy gave me such an adrenaline rush that I just had to take his portrait.

I was walking from my sewing room in the garage over to the house yesterday afternoon with my head down, reading a pattern as I walked. As I approached the doorway of the house I heard the unmistakable, heart stopping sound of a rattle snake under my feet. I am pretty sure I screamed. I know I jumped sideways. Shame on me for not being more aware of my surroundings but I was not expecting to find a rattler - especially one that big and healthy - trying to get in my front door!

He was not happy to see me and made that fact very clear. I was just glad he announced himself or I would have stepped right on top of him - a bad move for both of us.

 He quickly positioned himself in the inside corner of the porch until Ken was able to arrive with the snake grabber and transport him away. Ken then told me he had been dozing in a chair on the porch for the previous half hour. The snake was probably right under his seat while he slept!

Perhaps he was looking for this little fellow. This baby cottontail was just a few yards away in the hay corral.

Eating Big!

 Someone had left a bowl with some horse feed in the bottom near a trailhead I was at on Tuesday. There was a whole group of critters doing their best to empty it: chipmunks, squirrels and rabbits that I saw.

The most fun to watch were the chipmunks. They were so small in comparison to the size of the feeding container. The one pictured in the bowl was fearless.

 This fellow above was more colorful than the other and had beautiful markings. He almost looks like a miniature fox poised on the rock. He was much less trusting of the two legged creature with the camera so decided to watch from afar.

Southfork

 Yesterday I found myself on the Southfork, south of Cody, helping out on a Search and Rescue mission. This is a remote, spectacular and extremely rugged area.

While I couldn't possibly carry my camera while searching (because of the added weight and the treacherous terrain, let alone the problem of focusing on the goal at hand), there were a couple hours at the end of the day when I was stationed at staging and could snap a few shots of the surrounding countryside.

 The wind had come up throughout the day and suddenly, in early evening, the previously clear blue sky became clogged with thick smoke. The sun turned bright red and the landscape dulled as ash started falling on our vehicles. We were assured that the fire was many miles from our location but it was a dramatic change nonetheless.

Nannies, Billies and Kids!

 Today's post contains lots of photos of mountain goats. Seeing these unusual animals is one of the best treats of being on the Beartooth Highway at just the right time.

There are a few kids among the larger animals. In this photo a nanny and her baby are drinking from a small spring running down the hill. They are a little ways from the rest of the herd.

 Mama decides to take her kid back to the rest of the group.

 The animals are still shaggy as they lose their winter coats.

They obviously feel safe at the edge of this plunging cliff.

Beartooth Birds

Note: Today's post is dedicated to the memory of Elizabeth McCabe, formerly of Moose, Wyoming. Although I never met Ms McCabe, her wildlife and landscape photos of Wyoming have inspired me for many years. Elizabeth took her last photo for the Jackson Hole News and Guide about two weeks ago. She died last week at the age of 101.

All male mountain bluebirds are the same color, more or less. But like water, the depth and intensity of the blue we see is a reflection of the sky above. The bird pictured here is one we saw hunting bugs as we were hiking out of the Morrison Jeep Trail on top the Beartooths on Friday. I guarantee you I did not saturate the color on this guy. But he is one of the bluest bluebirds I have ever seen!

 The bird seen here was present at Duck Lake as we were fishing. It is a spotted sandpiper.They are uncommon but widespread across the country. I love the look of the water in the background and his very graphic shadow on the rock.

Beartooth Glory

 Yesterday we decided to load up the packs and fishing gear and drive up the Beartooth Highway to do a little trout fishing. Our plan was to head back a legal two-track a few miles and hike from there to a couple lakes where we have had good luck in the past.

Our temperatures at 5000' have been consistently in the 90's and higher for the last few weeks so we might be forgiven for forgetting that it is still early spring atop the Beartooth Mountains! All the dirt roads are closed until at least mid-July due to snow and wet conditions. So we changed our plans and parked just off the highway, heading in on foot toward Duck Lake, not far from the larger Chain Lakes.

In the first photo you get a sense of the snow that is still scattered around the landscape. In case you think this is an insignificant amount, I took a shot of Ken in front of one of the 12' or so banks.There is still a lot of water to be mined from the melting snow bergs.

 The day was glorious and the views magnificent. The smoky skies of lower altitudes were not obvious and a slight breeze kept the mosquitoes away.

We each caught a few small brook trout that we then released before packing away our fishing gear and just enjoying the day.

The last photo shows the Bear's Tooth in the distance. This is the small peak that gives this range its name.

More Locals

 This morning I caught sight of a mama cottontail nosing around the yard with her baby by her side. It is unusual to capture a photo of the two together so I grabbed my camera and went back to try. As soon as I stepped outside the mama bunny chased her little one into the bushes.

I stood there with my camera ready for a few minutes but they were too smart for me so I shut down the Canon and turned to head back indoors. My movements apparently startled another observer that I hadn't even realized was there.

 Up rose the golden eagle from a rock just a few yards away! By the time I got the camera turned on again he was halfway across the yard - without his breakfast of bunny.

It is so good to see the eagle back again. It never ceases to amaze me how he can be intimidated (harassed) into leaving for the few months the ravens have their nest in action.

 The wonderful story by Kathie K left as a comment to yesterday's post inspired me to go back out last evening and attempt to get some better shots of the violet green swallows in action. I wanted to show the wonderful colors of these birds that earned them their name.

I am so glad I was sitting outside when the meeting above took place!

Look at that face!