Summer Wind

There are portions of the Firehole river that race down from its confluence with the Madison and Gibbon rivers to tumble over the Firehole falls and through the Firehole canyon. At this point it’s a boisterous, tumultuous river, roaring with exuberance as it crashes over rocks, slams around high walled bends in the canyon, and sends its white frothed waters dancing into the air. Finally it makes its way through the Firehole Cascades and begins to widen and slow down and rest for awhile.

As it enters the Fountain Flats area very near the Mount Mary/Nez Perce trail it becomes an entirely different river. It’s wider, slower, often attaining a mirror like surface reflecting the pines that line its banks, with nothing to break its surface but the occasional trout rising to take a Stonefly or White Miller Caddis. Osprey take advantage of its crystal clarity to swoop down and grab its daily meal sending widening ripples outward until gradually the river returns to its quiet flow.

It is here that a pair of Trumpeter swans took residence one late spring choosing this quiet stretch of river to mate and feed and make it their home, at least for the summer. They slowly cruised up and down the still waters, gently feeding along the banks and seining the river bottom with their large webbed feet to bring the insects and other choice bits to the surface.

One warm summer day the breezes that blew up and down the river causing ripples and swirls and little wavelets to spread across the river’s surface, disturbing its normal mirror like surface, found one of the swans standing on the bank. It wasn’t a strong breeze but it was enough to stir something in the swan. A memory of past flights perhaps, or a reminder of changes to come, it called to the swan and it spread its wings and raised itself high to catch every delicious bit of the breeze ruffling its feathers. Most likely reminding it of the journey it and its mate would soon be taking as the summer wind changed to fall. The call to them to begin that journey to their winter home too strong to ignore. That will come later, for now it can bask in the sun and take delight in the wonder and warmth of the summer wind.

Morning Snow

Sandhill Cranes morning flight Bosque Del Apache

On an early December morning a group of Sandhill cranes left for their daily flight to the feeding fields near Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife refuge. It was bitter cold on the high desert near Soccoro, New Mexico and an unusual light snow was falling on the ponds where the Sandhills had spent the night.

Sandhill Cranes can appear ungainly in certain activities but when they take flight they are the epitome of grace and beauty. Similar to cranes in Asia, most notably in Japan, they are very similar in appearance to their Japanese cousins the Red Crowned cranes. The difference being Red Crowned cranes have black tail feathers that droop like a bustle where as the Sandhill crane has straight shorter tail feathers.

This is a photograph reimagined into an art image by the use of software programs and hand manipulation of the elements of the images on the computer. The purpose being to elevate a normal photograph into a vision that brings out the emotional content of the scene while still keeping the primary elements, the cranes, in their original captured state. In other words, Birds in Art.

Yeah I Ate The Peaches

This being an Instrument of Recording of the Interrogation of Private William K Norrich, known also as Billy the Grip, a devious peculator and boundless defalcator who did on June 27, 1864 make his way surreptitiously and with malice aforethought to enter the food storage area for the Colorado 11th Regiment, 5th Company, 3rd Platoon, to steal supplies for the regiment for his own nefarious ends. Namely four (4) 5 gallon tins of peaches reserved for the officers mess, the entire supply for the regiment.

This enlisted man, Private William K Norrich, who has a record of many infractions and disciplinary notations in his personel file, including being AWOL during encounters with the enemy saying he did not understand the commands of his platoon leader believing that the command to charge meant run away; being drunk on watch; raising dissention in the ranks by complaining of the food served in the enlisted men’s mess by voicing loud and boisterous derogatory remarks about the lack of peaches for the troops; refusing to obey lawful orders from his superiors by pretending to be deaf and incontinent; plus numerous other infractions, did enter the food storage area and pilfer the containers of peaches taking the entire supply, depriving his Officers of their expected deserts.

Private William K Norrich was discovered after he reported to the camp surgeon complaining of gastrointestinal distress. The Officer of the day, LTJG Millard K Ordom was notified after it was determined that the private’s symptoms were due to being impacted by peach pits. He was remanded to the brig after recovering from a treatment of lemons, figs and castor oil to obtain the evidence of his crime. When asked if he was the culprit of the theft his only reply was “Yeah, I Ate The Peaches.” also stating “They was good.” Due to the lack of remorse of the charged we recommend a Summary Court Martial as soon as the prisoner can walk.

Signed as investigating officer, LTJG Millard K Ordom this day June 29th, 1864

Hold It Right There

Black Bear Cubs Yellowstone National Park

Where daya think you’re going

Up the tree like Mom said

Well I’m King of the tree and I’m saying that’s as far as you’re going

Mom said all the way to the top and don’t stop

I don’t care. I’m King and you have to fight me if you want to go any higher

I’m not fighting you on this tree I’ll fall and it’ll be your fault

Tough beans stubby fight or fall that’s it

Maaaa !

What are you doing, shut up. I was only kidding

Maaaa !

Ok, Ok, Jeez you’re a crybaby. Go ahead

Maaaa !

Alright ! Alright already. You can have first shot at nozzle time just shut up

Ok but you better stay 10′ below me or I’m telling. You know what happened last time you started something. I’ll bet your butt is still sore.

It’s A New Day

Around about the first Week in June the cow elk head up into the high brush to drop their calves. They leave the protection of the herd to individually find that spot they picked out for this years birthing. Many births results in twins and the cow stays up in her protected place until the calves are big enough and are ready to head down and rejoin the herd.

As this is a favorite time for the grizzlies and wolves to seek out the newborn calves, hiding means saving many of the calves from becoming dinner for the hungry predators. Nature in its own inscrutable way provides many checks and balances. Replenishing the herds on one hand and on the other side providing sustenance for the predators. All designed to keep things on an even keel.

Today however, it’s a new day and the family heads on down into the valley and meadows to join the other new additions to seek safety in the herd by adding to its numbers, thereby raising the odds of keeping the newborns safe. Her strategy worked this time by keeping her calves well hidden from danger and now it’s up to luck and the caprice of nature as to what happens next.

Misplaced His Hat

American Bullfighting

What we have here is an example of an age old conflict between a bull that cannot abide seeing a cowboy standing and wearing a hat, and a cowboy standing and wearing a hat that is not about to take that attitude from any bull.

When the two come together, usually in an arena where there is the possibility of a confrontation, such as an event that features American Bullfighting, and say, the bull says something off color about the cowboys hat, and the cowboy says “Oh yeah, why you don’t you do something about it then, hamburger walking”, the situation can get explosive.

In the image above we see the aftermath of this provocative exchange. The bull is happy to provide a direct physical response to the cowboys’ taunt and the cowboy is making absolutely certain to note where his hat has landed so he can retrieve it when he hits the ground. It is very likely that this situation will repeat itself over and over again due to the inability of the opposing sides to come to any type of agreement.

It could be that this situation can be seen as a metaphor for life in general where there are two opposing points of view and no good way for one side or the other to work it out in a less violent manner. Remember when everything is said and done the bull does most often wind up as hamburger, and the cowboy loses his ability to wear his coveted hat due to the knots on his head from his many hard landings, so it’s a non-win for both points of view. It begs that age old question “Why can’t we all just be friends.” I guess the answer for me is “I don’t know, really. I like hamburger and I like wearing my hat. That’s a tough one to answer.”

The Blacksnake

First there is a low whistling sound as if something thin and dangerous is cutting through the air. Then a sharp cracking, staccato-like report that is as loud as a Colt 45 discharging next to your ear. That is the unmistakable sound of one of the deadliest weapons used in the old west, the whip known as the Blacksnake.

Originally used to keep cattle under control during a cattle drive or to move some of the larger, meaner bulls from one place to another, they often became a deadly weapon in the hands of a skilled operator. The small diameter lash at the end of the whip, called a cracker, made the rifle-like sound of the whip cracking, by breaking the sound barrier as the whip reached the end of its trajectory before being pulled back, completing the cycle.

Actually the whips used in the image above are really bullwhips, being a whip with a short wooden handle that the whip itself is braided around, rather than a whip that has no handle just 6′ to 12′ or longer of flexible braided bull hide as supple and sinuous as the snake it is named after.

If you were hit by the lash it could lay open the skin as if you were cut by a knife. Many movies were made with the whip being one of the hero’s or villian’s primary weapons, along with their trusty pistols, with the most notable being Lash Larue who was famous for using a 18′ bullwhip. Many a villain was brought to heel by the expert use of his bullwhip. After a Saturday morning at the Bijou boys would go home and practice with a piece of rope trying to emulate their hero.

The whipmaster above is showing tremendous skill by using not one but two bullwhips to demonstrate the weapons unique characteristics. This takes enormous skill as the whip can strike the operator as well as its intended victim if it wasn’t kept under absolute control. It wasn’t unusual to see a vivid scar running across a beginners face as they tried to master the weapon.

Most of the altercations in Wichita were handled by the use of pistols or shotguns but occasionally you would hear the report of a different kind of weapon and that would be the Blacksnake. An exotic weapon to be sure but deadly none the less.