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.