Bigger Heads : Happy in Montana

The causeway

A quick jaunt to the lake . Sunset is not too far off. It is said that living in a cold climate or high latitude causes the brain to work harder for survival . It makes you a bit more clever as your life does depend upon your ingenuity with the changing seasons. Shelter , food , clothing all need to be more proactive and prepared for versus hanging on the tropical beach. There is actually quite a bit of interesting research on this from adaptive skills to cranial and brain size. What kind of person goes around measuring brain sizes  ?

Foot path through the marsh

So a trip to Echo an hour before sunset .  I was looking for the Otters. The lake is quite frozen except for a small patch of open water up at the northern end of the marsh where the foot path winds across a culvert . I would suppose they are hanging out there now instead of down by the main Causeway.

Frozen Echo Lake and the Swans

 Below is a perfect Mouse House in the form of an old stump . It looks like the kind of house that some little critter would like  to have as home base.

A mouse house 

Pete's Ridge in the setting sun light 

 As we take a walk along the lake the sun starts to set lighting the surrounding peaks with some rosy twilight colors.

Heading home 

 After our hike we head back to the car and up the road to the house . The Swan Mountains are glowing . Sunset is an especially nice time here in the Northern latitudes. There are a few moments each day when the sky transforms to magic .

Jewel Basin

Goodnight for now to the Jewel Basin. Aptly named for it's gorgeous peaks and views.

Lazy Day Becomes the Long Night

 Lazy snowy day for errands . Snow all night and everything is newly frosted. The Swan is quite glowy in the afternoon sun. Some blue sky peaking through the snowy clouds . Heading East on the Swan Highway after the days chores in town.

 A particularly bright spot on the mountains north of Jewel Basin . I stop by the lake to see what is going on . It is a slow day so I wait by the lake by a hole in the ice. There are bubbles coming up so maybe some kind of animal is lurking under the ice. I have to be very quiet. I am sure it has super human hearing and even my shallow breathing can be detected by this unknown entity that is locked under the icy crust of the lake .

 My patience is rewarded by a river otter that surfaces and slithers onto the ice. It is breathing hard as it had to hold it's breath waiting for me to leave. Of course I didn't leave and now we are face to snoot. It watches me and I watch it. Then it dives back into the icy waters.

 Before it climbs out again it pokes it's head out and peaks around the border of the ice free hole.

 North end of the lake is quite still in the afternoon chill. It was fun to spend some time with the otter.

 Back on the road to the house . Hovering near freezing as I travel past Jewel Basin. The roads are not too slick but still have patches of ice.

 The trees at the top of Jewel Basin are covered in snow. These trees are quite tall but look tiny on the 7000 foot ridges.

The road into the basin is beckoning but more work to do so maybe another day .

A quiet day of exploring the great frozen North West gives way to the silence of the night. Tonight is the Long Night . Tomorrow is Solstice and we will once again welcome the sun back from it's long journey in the Winter sky.

The consciousness of One

Solitude

North End Lake Blaine and Swan Mountains

 Out and about on Saturday afternoon after errands. A bit of a drive around the the northern shores of Lake Blaine. The waters have receded for winter but will be brimming come spring melt which is not that far away. Ice fishing is big here and at any time you can see folks out on the lake looking for a good spot . These shallow waters will be a wonderful nursery for the waterfowl during the spring and summer months.

Game Trail

 In the early morning hours these fields host dozens if not hundreds of deer. you can seen a game trail above. These criss cross the fields through out the area .

 Some of the dozens of deer . Just a few feeding this afternoon but in the dawn hours this herd swells to close to a hundred. A nice grassy field several hundred feet from the road. some day I will invest in a telephoto lens . Below a few of the paw prints left by our four legged friends. Of deer one can always count on the entire group running across the road. They are a perfect herd animal . After watching them for a while they truly do not see themselves as separate . If one part of the herd crosses the street you can bet on the rest. Good reason to stop . You can see it in their face . They must go with the rest of the herd regardless of the cars and trucks racing towards them . They have a single consciousness it would seem. We see separate animals however they are connected by something invisible that forces them to move as one. We as humans are part of a larger group but we are more of the individual type of orientation. you can see herd instinct for a bit  in young children who will race blindly after a parent . We also revert to herd mentality in crowds that panic . In calmer situations and as we mature we consider our surrounds more and move as an individual . Not so for the deer. I travel in a patient way toward the cabin in the woods. Looking ever vigilant for the four leggeds at the forest edge.

 The ducks and geese are trickling back to the North Country. A pair of beautifully colored male mallards. A more subtle female is off to the side. Their green heads are iridescent.

Mallards

 More ducks and Canadian geese strutting around in the field past the lagoon. There is nothing like the return of the water fowl. This year I plan to travel to the Freezeout Lake on the Eastern side Choteau Montana. I want to see the swans and snow geese return . It is a shallow lake with grain fields around . One of the beer companies grow barley and other ingredients for brewing . The water fowl rest and feast on the leavings.  Jason Savage  is a professional photographer with some pretty awesome pictures of birds in general and Freezeout Lake specifically.His pictures are stunning . He captures the birds in flight and split second stillness.