Vacations Over..

I think there is a saying that goes like this - "The bad part about vacation is when it's over".    It's been an incredible time away.  Spring brings new life in Yellowstone.  It's good and bad.  New life often means easy targets for predators.  The good part is the energy, curiosity and ignorance of the wildlife young.  The parents of each newborn shows skills that have been passed on for centuries.  My thoughts as I witnessed these relationships is that we humans can learn a few things from the wild.  

It really is a great time to be in Yellowstone.  Be prepared.  This time of year the incredibly tough winters show it's rage on the wildlife.  It's common to witness elk birthing calfs only to immediately be taken by predators.  All sorts of animals with obvious signs of starvation.  I witnessed a two year old grizzly that had encountered a porcupine.   It's face was covered in quills.  One of the more heartbreaking natural scenes this photographer has witnessed.  It was within hours of losing it's precious life.   Barely moving and never lifting it's head.  Only enough energy to pick at grass and eat it.  

Another occasion revealed an elk that had been attacked by a predator.  It was wounded bad enough that it could do more than stand.  Many times it would stand and attempt to move only to lay back down.  The next morning it was gone.  It is a sure thing that this elk provided sustenance for another living creature.  

The "tough" scenes are far outweighed by the beauty and new life in the park.  It's the start of a yearly cycle that if missed will occur again next year, and the year after and the year after that.  I hope to miss few.

There is story to the picture of the buffalo calf in the river.  Stay tuned and I will post the rest of the story.  

Tonight while driving home my eagerness to sleep in my own bed was tempered by the beautiful scene in Randolph, Utah.  Laziness is not a trait of a photographer that loves to capture beautiful scenes like the one above.   Roadside.  Waiting for that perfect placement of cloud and sky.  Nature usually gives a lot if you are patient.  It was an incredible week capped by a sensational drive home.