The Day After...

After yesterdays exciting adventure with the hawk, I went to explore the crime scene of Hawk kills and eats Duck. There were a number of animal tracks, a moose, canada geese and deer. Otherwise I found two bloody bones and so many feathers glued to the surface of the melting frozen creek. A pretty clean crime scene actually. Not much went to waste. What was yesterdays snow bank is now creek, for the days are warming. Evidence of winter in the form of snow melts becoming nourishment for Springs reign.

My mornings walk had me languishing in the softness of the earth under my snow boots. Peeling off my light down jacket, I realized "at last spring is here". Perhaps next time I go out, I will be donning hiking boots, storing away my big hefty snow boots that have cared for me all these winter months. Too my great excitement I came upon my first forest mushroom and then another group which looked to me like an orange colored lichen until I took a photo and looked up close!

Later joined a friend in a drive to Polson Montana. The day was the hottest this year, in the 60's. We had blue skies and wide open landscape, just lovely!
Flathead River:
Saw my first spring wildflower, the Yellow bell:
This last picture is not the best quality, shooting into the sun. Still I could not resist sharing this with you, as this is SO Montana:

A Hawks Feast

 This morning is a blue skied sunny day, lovely. The snow still firm enough to walk on due to the nights freeze. Wandering through the woods, pepper spray on hip, for we have a bear that has left its winter den. Two cameras with me hoping to find ice in geometric form on the surface of the creek. Yet instead of heading to the creek I turn and wander down the long meadow. Soon this meadow will be a shallow lake made of melted snow. A bird sanctuary, though not the sort of sanctuary that is safe, this mornings journey was proof of this. On the edge of a snow bank next to a meandering creek was a Northern Goshawk, perched on its kill, an orange footed duck. Is it one of the ducks that has been living in my pond? As sad as this thought makes me, I felt no sadness watching the hawk ripping feather and flesh from it's kill. Often in my wanderings I come across evidence of some animal tracks, a scuffle or kill; always wondering what had occurred. Wishing that I could have seen the wild in action. Today I saw plenty of action.

Tis the next day and I have an Addendum to this post: I have awoken this morning, to find a pair of mallards swimming in my ponds. They are entirely lively and making plenty of noise. Yesterday I never saw them and I wondered if that hawk had eaten them or one of them. I can barely say how empty the ponds felt to me without them there . Yea, I feel so happy.

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