Fishtail Family Fun Day, 100th Anniversary

This year represented the 100th anniversary of the city of Fishtail, Montana. There has always been a Fishtail Family Fun day but this year was special to celebrate the 100th year. As Clint chatted with Kay Johnson, Lowell and Ruth Quenemoen's granddaughter who is visiting for the next 6 weeks, he asked if she had every been to the Fishtail parade and fun day. She said, no, so Clint suggested that she and Marty ride in the parade. At the end of a long conversation and debate, the Circle B Bar T would participate with the following:
                   * our theme, "We are family"
                   * in the context of family fun day, the family would be Arabian horses
                   * Grover, the sire, Johnny, the brother, and Ruby, Grover's daughter
                   * the riders would be Kay Johnson, Marty Baxter, & Wendy Bleacher
                   * Clint would lead the group, wear his fancy jacket with Grover's picture & carry Grover's              
                      picture jumping

We departed 15 S. Grove Creek Road at 10:15 AM to be ready for the 11:00 AM parade. Clint was all decked out with his coat and the sign.

and when you observed the back of the coat, what did you see, but Grover.

The girls were attired in the official Fishtail Centennial t-shirts and once they mounted the horses they all had helmets, riding trousers, and black boots.

So the people on the parade route would know our theme, signage had been prepared for the reverse side of the t-shirts. Of course the theme was "we are family" but an added description necessary to identify the horses as you can see from this photograph.

and just as we were preparing to get in line for the parade, another family member arrived to participate in the parade. When Grover was still a stallion, we had donated his semen to be sold at the Fishtail Family Fun Day and one of our neighbors had purchased it. The result of that transaction was hitched to a cart and was another entry in the parade. Grovers daughter is the horse on  the right side.

The parade of course went down the main street of Fishtail. It then turned around and went back to the Grove Creek road where it started. This is a scene of the downtown area and the parade.

and of course the family was ready to participate. Clint's biggest challenge was to get 3 women and 3 horses to pose photography all at the same time. What a challenge. This is the best I found from the images that I captured.

as we were returning to the truck and trailer to load up and return home, it was announce that the winner of the horse and rider group was none other than the Circle B Bar T family. One last picture, please smile and pose for the photograph with the trophy.

Kay is holding the trophy, Grover is thanking Wendy for featuring him, Marty has that proud smile and Ruby is still tired from here journey from Ohio to be in Montana for the summer with Kay.

Horses, more than Arabians

Over the past couple of years, Marty has been visiting the Crooked Creek Ranch near Lovell, Wyoming to participate in horse activities centering around Dressage and Eventing. Clint discovered that within a few miles of the Crooked Creek Ranch is the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range. So, he drops off Marty and the horses and heads to find some "wild horses". Memorial Day weekend was no exception. Marty, Wendy, and Johanna were involved with the horse events while Clint was hoping to find new places to see the wild horses. Although Clint took several hundred photos of the girls and other participants, the first 3 are of the Circle B Bar T gang.

This is Grover with Wendy Bleacher riding and Johanna Kern observing. The last time you saw Grover he was jumping over a log in one of the Crooked Creek pastures with Marty aboard. This was taken in the enclosed arena where they were obviously jumping.

You may have seen some photographs of Quasar in the past. The big boy is now 17 hands was hopping over this pile of logs with no problems. Johanna is on board and everyone was pleased with their performance. Johanna and Quasar participated in the more advanced competition and they won. Wendy and Grover were third.

Marty has started to train with Majestic Dancer, better know around the ranch as "Doc". Since the 2 of them are just getting started, they were in the "grasshopper" class (beginners) and they did very well, winning the competition.

So the girls and their horses headed home not only proud of their rides but of their winnings as well. So what did Clint do.

He stopped at the visitors center in Lovell to get maps and an update as to where the bulk of the 100 plus wild horses were. The staff at the center gave Clint several ideas but told him he needed a high profile vehicle and 4 wheel drive if he wanted to go where the bulk of the wild horses were. Clint thought, no problem with his Dodge pick up truck.

Clint headed down a number of dirt roads with the maps he had been furnished. Each of the roads ultimately headed into the mountains along very narrow dirt roads and one by one Clint turned around before he got near the horses.

So. . . . . back to the area that he had been visiting on prior trips. After the first 2.5 hours he had seen no horses but did meet a couple from Colorado who have visited the wild horse range frequently. Clint decided to make one more tour of the range before he returned to Crooked Creek to photograph the activites there. Almost 12 miles into the range, the second time,  he spotted the couple from Colorado and it looked like they had found a horse.

A beautiful gray stallion. Clint's new friends added something special. They were frequent enough visitors that they knew the horse by his name. It was Fiero. To prove this, when Clint got home he keyed in Fiero on the internet and found a very similar picture.  Clint's new friends, then asked if he had seen the welcoming committee at the south entrance. Clint said, you mean the Big Horn sheep. They said no, there are 2 stallions, Hickok and Jesse James and their girl friends that are always hanging around near the lake and the clump of trees as you enter.

After Clint had taken enough photos of Fiero, he headed back to Crooked Creek to catch up with those activities. But, guess what, as he neared the south entrance, who was standing near the road.

It was Jesse James. Yes, Clint found Jesse James on the internet as well.

Stay tuned as we visit the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range in the future and introduce you to more of the horses. Marty wants to be part of the next visit as well.

Wildlife at it's best

The wildlife you will see in this edition of our blog should be very interesting when you consider many of the following factors. We were not in Africa to capture the images of the lions and tigers. We were not in bear or wolf country to get the photographs of these wild critters. When you look at the images you will see contentment and very healthy animals. Before I answer the questions that I just posed, let's look at the photographs.

You've seen wolves that I have photographed since they were re-introduced in the wild. This wolf was not in Yellowstone National Park and seems very relaxed and healthy.

Was this tiger posing for me to take this photograph, was it looking for something to attack, or had it just finished eating. I was at least 1500 feet away and you get this image as a result of zoom lens and software. It seems that it had plenty of roaming room which in fact it did.

Maybe something was itching the back of it's neck. It was not concerned about me being near by or it could have been very tense. Have you ever seen a tiger as relaxed as this one and it seems to be enjoying the comfort of the scratch.

This bear seems to be in a hurry to get somewhere. But it was a very healthy bear and I can assure you that it was not being chased by another critter. You aren't seeing any trees in the photos and it doesn't look like a park or a jungle.

When was the last time you saw a lion this relaxed. It's resting in the sun and there doesn't appear to be tens of people peering at it. If you like wildlife, you might enjoy visiting them. Keep reading and we'll finish the story before you you're through.

Is this more of what you would expect with these creatures? This seems to be more like what you would expect of a lion in the wild. Or, is it mating season and this guy is calling his girl friend or telling his competitor that this is his territory.

Based on this picture, it was none of the above. He's content with his surroundings and is probably ready to take a nap.

So where was I? This visit was a lot better than any zoo that I've been to, especially if you are concerned about the life of these animals. Being penned up in cage for your life is OK if you are on the other side of the cage, but if you are the animal, it's not like it was in the wild. 

We had the opportunity to visit the Wildlife Sanctuary in Colorado a few years ago and have returned  each time we're in Boulder, Colorado visiting our family and grandchildren. The owners of the sanctuary and generous contributions have permitted them to give these animals freedoms that few captured wild life ever get. I was on a mile long elevated walkway taking these photographs. The wildlife were not in the least bit concerned about our visit as you can see from these pictures.

I have added the logo of the Wildlife Sanctuary as well as the website for those of you who are interested in learning more about these animals and their benefactors. If you are ever in the Denver area, take the time to visit this wonderful establishment.

It was fun having the opportunity to capture the images of these animals without having to spend days and dollars traveling to their natural habitat.

                                                                           ENJOY

Let's visit our favorite places, Yellowstone & Bighorn Pryors

We had visitors from Ohio during the early part of April. After a night at Chico Hot Springs we headed for Yellowstone National Park. Although the weather report was a bit iffy, it appeared we could make the trip from Mammoth Hot Springs to Cooke City and return. As we approached Gardiner, we related the story about the Gardiner football field, the buffalo who had migrated out of the park, and enjoyed grazing on the grass in the football arena. We also stated, that the last time we went past the field, it was loaded with buffalo manure. The following is a photograph I took as we went past.

If you remember the commentary from our February 22nd posting, you will recall that students who were in trouble with the staff got assigned the duty of cleaning up the mess. We don't know how many got in trouble, but someone had cleaned up the mess on the field.

Next we headed out of Mammoth and as we got closer to Tower Junction, the temperature got colder and the rain turned into snow. We decided to turnaround and avoid the bad weather.Just as we were about to turn around we spotted the remains of what a grizzly had been enjoying for several days, and instead of a grizzly, it was now a wolf.

and then we spotted the next in line. As you can see there wasn't much left, but the raven was standing watch to move in when the wolf gave up.

We had turned around, but decided to take one more look before we headed back. Something caused the wolf to leave the carcass and immediately it started to run across what may have appeared to be snow to you, but it was a small lake. The wolf had not checked out the thickness of the ice and the next thing we knew, it was swimming.

It was very cold and the wolf did make it out of the water, but you can tell from this photo, that he was not comfortable with the outcome.

We left Yellowstone and the closer we got to Fishtail, the warmer it got and the snow was gone. Next we decided to visit the Big Horn basin and the Pryor Wild Horse Range. Before we got to see the wild horses, we overlooked the Big Horn Canyon with our guests, Tom Baxter and his partner, Linda James.

as we entered the wild horse range, we did find some black stallions. This was our best shot. It was too cold there for fighting and fussing. They just wanted to pose and ultimately we saw them grazing what little they could find and licking the minerals on the side of the hills.

Marty wanted Tom and Linda to see a ranch at the end of the road we were on. This was close to 7,000 acres that was homesteaded by a lady in the 1950's and ultimately she left this area when she was 80 years old. This was her home. We walked around, observed much of the ranch and were amazed at how it could still exist over 6o years later.

Keep in touch as we will return to Yellowstone and the Wild Horse range again this year and see what exciting we can find on our next trip. Linda and Tom want to return for more.

Signs of Spring on the Grove Creek

The weather may indicate spring is near and then it changes and winter sets in for a few more days. However, there are certain things that happen on the Grove Creek and happen only in the spring, regardless of the weather. As you can see from the next two images, it is calving season and that only happens in the spring. As you drive down the road, you wonder how the mothers can put up with whats going on.

The mama at the top is caressing her new calf while the one at the bottom is staring at her calf as it hops through the pasture, perhaps performing for the other one. As I took the next photograph, you can see that mom might have been scolding her baby for the foolish actions in the pasture.

And the other cow is paying close attention to what's happening below. With the thousands of calves already born, you can imagine the sights as we drive down the road to Fishtail and Absarokee. I doesn't stop there either, as long as you are driving in the ranch country, you will see these sights. What's next, this guys is resting, because it will not be long before he gets to spend a couple months with the mother cows.

The boys are scored at the end of the breeding season. If they have done a good job, they get to stay and rest for 9 to 10 months until next year they get to visit the cows again. If you don't get the all of your cows pregnant, you end up as hamburger. Another animal that's a sure sign of spring are these guys.

Number 54 looks like it is in a hurry to find it's mother. In the background there are several lambs with their mothers. Most of the mothers have twins, so they are busy making milk and caring for their lambs.
The numbers on their backs match the number on the mother. The tails will be removed soon and the little boys will have another part of their anatomy removed. The pastures filled with sheep are just as entertaining as the cattle. Of course, they have their own pastures.

Another sign of spring is the migration of the birds back to Stillwater County. Look carefully in the right center of this photograph and you'll see a sand hill crane. If you were here, you would not need to see them to know they are back. Their loud honking sound tells you they're here and they will be honking, flying, and giving birth to new ones before they head south in the late fall. Speaking of birds . . .

this is a male mountain blue bird. He arrived with his mate about the same time as the sand hill cranes. This one is about 3 fence posts from the "bluebird house" which sits on a nearby fence post. He and his lady friend have been tidying the house for nesting and hatching some babies. If we are lucky, we'll have photographs of the babies before the summer is over.

I know you want to see the mountains, so you can determine the real weather in Montana. You saw snow on the ground where the lambs were, well . . . . here's the mountains.

For the past 2 months, we have had varying degrees of weather. As warm as 70 degrees, as cold a 8 above, some rain, some snow, mostly sun in the day time. And this is what it's like in Montana and you have seen what tells us it's spring, even though the weather at times would not indicate it.

Bison Day in Yellowstone

This past fall, we discovered a new entrance to Yellowstone National Park. It starts about 8 miles north of Gardiner, where the Roosevelt Archway resides. You cross the Yellowstone River and head south on a dirt road that travels through acreage that is now part of the park. 

Soon after we crossed the river on this trip, we saw a lot of bison, in areas that we were not accustomed to seeing. These bison had drifted out of the regular park and were looking for better place to eat in the winter. There were 2 reasons for this activity. The vegetation in the park, this time of the year, is not only snow covered but not very rich in nutrients. In addition, there is currently an excess number of bison in the park based on the vegetation and the total population of all species of animals.

We were aware that the hunting season for the bison had been extended in hopes of reducing the population to a number that is inline with the proper sharing of vegetation. We had not traveled far when we started observing swarms of ravens or crows as you might call them. These 2 trees had about 75% fewer birds in them when I took this photograph, as we had frightened them as we stopped to take the picture.

Anyone living in this part of the country knows that when you see swarms of ravens, there is a carcass nearby. What had attracted the birds to this area was the remains of bisons that the hunters were not interested in taking with them, after they killed their target. As we left this area and before we went through the archway, we passed the Gardiner School and football field. Guess what we saw, more bison and pile after pile of bison manure, the remains of them grazing on the grass from the football field.

Then we learned something else. At this time of the year, there is no detention for the students who get in trouble with the school and/or teachers. The problem students are offered a bag, a scoop, and are pointed to the football field to start cleaning up the manure. I guessed this was enough of a deterrent, that the student body was on it's best behavior, and the manure was piling up.

We were soon in the park and we saw a lot more bison. Soon after we headed east from Mammoth Hot Springs we started to see them on the road, and they were not interested in letting us pass. We lost at least an hour of travel time as we headed east and then returned. 

The scenery changed as we spotted a coyote who had just crossed the road and was heading into the trees. There were other coyotes during the day but we needed binoculars to see them.

And it just wasn't just herds of bison heading down the road, it was also bison who preferred the road to the deep snow, and when they got good footing, they decided to do other things as these two were fighting and held us up until they were tired. We didn't dare try to pass them as we might had been rammed by one or both of them.

We had our fill of bison by this time. So we came along a herd of pronghorn, you may call them antelope and this one seemed to be posing for us. Thank you Mr. Pronghorn, we needed a break in the scenery.

But it wasn't over yet, as we were traveling through Lamar Valley, look what was napping in the middle of the road. Not only was there no snow on the road, but by now the sun had warmed it up to the point that it was a comfortable rest.

More of the same until we were heading north of Gardiner towards the bridge we had crossed about 8 hours earlier. As we peered down to the Yellowstone River, we saw this marvelous bird. What a way to end another wonderful trip to the park.

You are probably asking, were there any elk during your visit. There were quite a few but none of them  triggered my photograph sense. We did not see any wolves at all.

Tune in next month and we'll share our next trip through the park with you.

What's different a month later

I researched the wildlife on my favorite Yellowstone web site, forums.yellowstone.net, and came to the conclusion that we needed an early breakfast at Chico and to start our visit early. This was a great idea as we saw a lot more wild life on this trip than on our last one. The elk were much more prevalent and this youngster, standing in the snow was a favorite image. The big boys must have been hiding, but there were a lot like this one.

Although there were a lot of bison before, we got more interesting glimpses of them as they were closer to the road. We thought this one was trying to hide from us but how can a big guy like this find shelter behind a tree.

Soon after we left Mammoth, we rounded a curve in the road and saw a coyote enjoying breakfast. There appeared to be a lot more food that this coyote could consume and we did not see any of it's relatives.

 However, not far away we saw this magpie. If you look closely, magpies do not have any red color around their head, so we guessed that this one had either been feasting before the coyote arrived or perhaps it was able to sneak in and grab a bite. Needless to say, it was not in a hurry to leave.

But the magpie is going to have to wait because look what's in a nearby tree waiting for it's turn.

We had seen and enjoyed all of this and we still had only been in the park for less than 2 hours. Marty had already agreed, that we would have an early breakfast on our next trip to Chico and Yellowstone. Shortly after you pass the Roosevelt junction and head toward Lamar Valley, you travel across a bridge that crosses the Lamar River. We have seen wildlife choose to cross the bridge rather than ford the river. On this day, we watched this herd of bison gather at one end of the bridge and started their journey to the other side. Needless to say, we had to wait until they had all crossed. While we were waiting we observed bighorn sheep in the river valley trying to find something to eat.

On to the Lamar Valley. There were a lot of Bison there as well. The folks with spotting scopes were watching wolves in the distance. As you know, I want to be up close, therefore we kept traveling. Soon after we passed a group of the spotters, I spotted something I could capture with my camera.

As you can see, they were quite a distance away. They were either full or awaiting something to get nearby for them to eat. They were not moving and we watched them for several minutes, they did not move.

On to Cooke City, a bowl of chili and we returned. There was not the wild life on our return with the exception of pronghorn. Before we left the park, we had seen more pronghorn than we had ever seen before. I must have snapped at least 100 photos of them and when we got home, this was our favorite.

We will return again in another month. Clint will have a new lens for his camera at that time and we'll have to see what is lined up for him to photograph.