Wildlife Encounters~The Big One

Sunset over ripe winter wheat, Sweetgrass Hills standing sentinel. 

One of the best things about living in a very rural place is that we see all kinds of wildlife on a regular basis. We see deer and antelope, for example, pretty much every day. And it doesn't get old!

Lately, we've been spending a bit more time than normal driving around on crop tours, assessing how close we are to being able to cut wheat and get harvest underway. With all the extra time spent out in the field, we've been seeing even more wildlife than normal. In some cases, we've been VERY up close and personal!

This post is very photo heavy-- photos are from me and Jeff of wildlife encounters! Some of them are a bit blurry because it can be difficult to photograph an animal on the move with a cell phone camera. Enjoy!

Pronghorn Antelope grazing on a stubble field.

Starting off with antelope. Pronghorn Antelope are fairly pedestrian where we are. We live in one of the most densely populated antelope counties in Montana. It's quite possible that antelope outnumber people. We see them all the time. They're still cool.

Antelope Buck in wheat field.

They're especially cool when you see a monster buck! This is one of those blurry photos. He only stopped briefly... apologies. Hope you can still get an appreciation of his grandeur!

Mule Deer bucks in velvet.

And then there are the deer! Jeff and I spotted these while down in the creek in one of our pastures. They were easily within 100 yards of us, maybe even closer, when we first saw them. Three young (small) mule deer bucks, in velvet. Again, photo is blurry. :(  Still, very cool.

Rocky Mountain Elk in crop stubble.

Don't forget about the rare elk sighting! We do have some elk around, but as I said, they're very rare. Not this guy, though. He was just trotting through some crop stubble about a mile south of our house. Jeff got this photo on his way home from his parents' place. Probably a small cow or yearling bull. No antlers. Tom, my father-in-law, just saw two larger bull elk in his pasture yesterday, full racks in velvet. Maybe he can keep them there until hunting season starts?! Maybe there's getting to be more elk around. We don't have much for predators, so it wouldn't surprise me if elk population is on the increase.

See if you can spot the wildlife in this next photo.
I'll give you a hint: I'm not talking about Harvey!


Here's a close-up...
We were out scouting crops and decided to hand-pull a few scattered weeds. It's a really good thing I didn't just reach in and grab this kochia plant!

Actually, I did pull up the plant that was close to this one-- about three feet away. And Harvey had just been right by that same spot, you know, doing his business...

The snake waited a LONG TIME to rattle. Boy, am I glad he warned us before I reached in there to pull out his cover! Could have ended in disaster.

When he did start rattling, I nearly jumped out of my skin. Jeff told me later he was proud of the string of cusswords I spat out as I got the hell away from that rattling snake! Definitely the closest I've ever been to a snake. My hand was within two feet of him when he rattled. Yikes. Needless to say, we decided to let the weeds grow a little longer after that and went home and had a beer. You know, to calm the nerves.  Being close to a rattling snake really gets your adrenaline pumping. Holy cow.

But the summer reptilian sightings are not done, alas.

Just this morning I was out walking Harvey. He had been pointing and flushing a lot of birds and really enjoying himself on our walk. Then he pointed and held his point for a very long time. I walked up to him to see if he'd release and flush and he just held it. I looked along the trajectory of his point and there, about six feet ahead, right in line with Harvey's nose, was a GIANT rattlesnake. I'm officially naming him The Big One. You can see most of his rattle in the photo below. He's not small.

I think it's very possible that this is the same snake that bit Harvey earlier this summer. When we saw him this time, he was halfway inside a gopher hole. He had no idea we were there watching him, and we were not close enough to get bit anyway. If he had emerged from the hole, you can bet we would have high-tailed it away from him pretty damn fast. You can see he's pretty girthy. He's probably been feasting on gophers and voles all summer. I think he was eating one right as we stood there and watched.


If you look really closely in this next photo, there's some snake skin that's clearly a different color. It's darker and more brown. When The Big One would wiggle and move around (still within that hole) the darker colored part didn't move at all. I didn't get any closer to investigate, for obvious reasons, but I think it could either be a second, live snake, OR perhaps a dead snake. It definitely was not an empty, shed snakeskin. It had flesh. And it wasn't attached to The Big One, i.e. not just still part of The Big One's body.

 Maybe they're a pair snakes? Maybe they have a nest? Maybe The Big One killed that other one for encroaching on his food source? Kind of hoping it's not a nest. In any rate, I plan to drive back up there later and see if I can find the snakes again (in a safe and cautious manner). I remember exactly where they were. If they're both gone, then at least I'll know that there were two live snakes. **shudder**

I am really proud of how smart Harvey was, though. He pointed the snake as if to let me know that the snake was there. He didn't charge toward him as if he were flushing a bird, he just held his point. "Mom, there's a snake down there! Be careful!" And then he just sat down right next to me calmly. Seriously, dogs are so smart. How often do I wish they could tell us humans everything they know. Oh, what we would learn! I'm grateful to have a dog that can at least communicate with me by pointing. Pretty dang cool. :)

Harvey the Vizsla, traipsing through a field of winter wheat. 

Thankful Thursday ~ The Vizsla Perspective

Today's post is "guest written" by my dog, a Hungarian Vizsla named Harvey. He is nearly five years old now, and has lived his entire life on the farm. After his recent altercation with a rattlesnake he felt pretty sorry for himself for a few days, but now he has regained his focus and wanted to share with you some of what he is thankful for here on the farm! Enjoy Harvey's perspective!

Harvey used to be a puppy!

Hey everyone! I'm Harvey and I'm a handsome, good, Vizsla. Actually, my parents say that I'm a Vizsla, but they don't realize that I'm actually a person, just like them. See, guys? I belong in the front seat.

Anyway, not too long ago I was out for a run with my Dad (Jeff) and I began to smell something in the grass that smelled familiar but I couldn't quite place it. I decided to point it like a bird, like when I'm hunting--I love to hunt!--but I couldn't wait for Dad to come over to me, I just had to know, so I got closer and then the thing bit me! Then my parents were pretty worried, and that made me worried, and we had to get in the car and I had to ride in the back seat (!!) the whole way to see my friends at the vet, where they poked me with more sharp things. My face felt really weird. Mom said I was bit by a snake. So that's what that thing was! I felt so awful but everyone was giving me lots of pets and sympathy so that was nice. I even got a Get Well card from Jeff's Aunt Linda!

Guys, I don't know if you know this, but I'm kind of a big deal.
I felt really special to get some mail of my own!

When I was feeling sick I had lots of time to think about what I love about being a Vizsla, I mean person, living in the country, and my mom (Katie) thought I should help her with her blog and write it out for you all to read. I have lots of things I'm thankful for about living here. I love it here. This is my home. I'm a country dog. Mom says there are lots of things I get to do because I live in the country that dogs who live in the city don't get to do.

Like roam naked all the time. I have a collar but I don't wear it unless I'm in town. I hate my collar and I always scratch at it with my back foot to show my mom and dad that I'd rather not be wearing my collar. I'd rather be just in my own skin and fur, not wearing a collar. I'm thankful that I can run around naked and collar-free when I'm at my home in the country.

I have a long and handsome neck! Doesn't it look great without an itchy, scratchy, noisy, jangly collar? My parents say that since I'm the only Vizsla around (I don't know why they still call me a Vizsla-- I'm a person!), I don't have to wear my collar because everyone knows who I am. I don't ever, ever want to leave my people, so I don't run away from  my home and my yard, either. I just stay with my people. I'm thankful for my people.

Ok, this isn't a picture of me with my people. My mom is always always taking pictures of me and usually I don't like to hold still for very long, but sometimes she gets me in a moment of weakness. This is one of my rugs. I like rugs. Mom says she doesn't like that rug but I don't think she's ever tried laying on it. I like this rug. I can see the whole kitchen and watch for when my people drop food. They have thumbs, but they're still clumsy. I like this rug. I'm a Vizsla/Person, and I don't belong laying on the cold ground. I'm thankful for soft rugs and furniture. At my parents' house I go on most of the same furnitures that they do, even the bed. I love, love, love the bed! I'm so thankful and happy when I get to snuggle under the covers with my people!

Inside stuff is good and I like to be inside but I really love to be outside. At my house, I have so much room to run and explore! I love to hunt and run and chase bunnies and jackrabbits, and get the bird! Sometimes I try to chase those big things my mom calls antelope but only if I have a lot of energy. Those things are fast. I love to run in the grass and fields by my house. My people take me for lots of walks and runs and I usually just get to roam around free. I only wear my collar and leash...ugh...when I'm in town, so not that often. I'm so glad I have so much room to run and play!

I get to go with my Dad wherever he goes to work, too. Really, I'm working with him. He doens't like to be alone and neither do I so we're a good team. I help him in the tractor or in the combine or whatever big machine he's driving. I look out for birds when we're driving in the field. I could get 'em.

Guys, I don't know if you know this, but I'm a good hunter! There's nothing I love more than hunting, and my people. I love my people too. But hunting is what I was made for! I love to hunt the birds so much! I get so excited when my mom or dad say we're going to get the bird! I do a happy dance and hop around and tell them how excited I am. But when we get to the field, I don't want to be distracted. I just hunt. My people have to keep up to me. I'm so glad I live somewhere where there's so many birds I can get!

I got this bird for my dad. I use my nose to hunt the bird along the ground, then I do a special point to show my dad where it is. Then when he tells me it's Ok, I get the bird and it flies into the air and my dad shoots it! I am so proud when we get a bird! So is my dad. 

I also hunt for gophers. My people didn't know I was so good at this until recently but I showed them. I can get gophers right out of their holes in the ground. I can smell them and hear them and I pounce on them and dig them up. Then I like to show everyone what I caught for them by casually strolling around the yard with the gopher in my mouth! Do city dogs have gophers? Here's me going after a gopher in the snow-

Sometimes when I have a lot of energy and my parents are really busy I get to have a date with my girlfriend Bella. Bella has even more energy than I do! She can run and play forever and ever. I like to wrestle and play with Bella. When mom and dad say her name, my ears perk up because me and Bella always have so much fun! Bella lives at someplace called "Uncle Mert's." That's what my dad calls it, anyway. 

Sometimes I get tired before Bella does and then I'm ready for a nap and some people-snuggles and to have my tummy scratched. I'm so, so thankful for my people when they scratch my tummy! This is how I show them that they can scratch my chest and my tummy. Also, see how I get to be on the couch with my people? That's because I'm a person too and I don't belong on the floor.

There's lots of other things I'm thankful for. I just love my people so much. All of my people. I love mom and dad, and Mr. Tom and Miss Carol, and Miss Stennie, and Mr. Josh and Auntie Toad (Mom says I shouldn't call her that on the blog because that's not her real name. Mom says her real name is Auntie Katie, but I just know her as Auntie Toad. I don't understand why I can't call her the name that I know), and I love Mr. John and Miss Penny and Mr. Ryan... I just love all of my people! I wish I could have them all together in one place all the time! Why would any of you ever want to be away from me? I'm the best! And I love you guys! 

 I also wanted to tell you guys that sometimes I get to do races with my mom. She's not as fast as me so I have to slow down for her, and I have to wear my leash and collar and sometimes my harness. I really, really don't like my harness, but if it means I get to run with my mom and do a race I can usually put up with it. Me and my mom have done four races together and I have been the First Place Dog in each race we did! Mom says to be sure to tell you guys that's because I was the only dog, but I wanted to leave that detail out. I like to run and I like to be first! Here's a picture of me and my mom after we did her race in some place called Choteau last summer:

So, everyone, I hope you liked hearing about some of what I love and what I'm thankful for on the farm! As a Vizsla/person on the farm, I have so many things to be happy about, even if I have to put up with a few snakes. I'll try to stay away from those. Just so you know, since that happened, my people are making me run with my leash and collar with them now. Or we run at Tom and Carol's house where there aren't so many snakes. As long as I get to run and be outside, I'm happy.

Mom says this is the part where I'm supposed to ask you: What are you thankful for this week?! But what I also want to hear from any other dogs out there. Are there any dogs that read my mom's blog? What are you other dogs thankful for, too? 

This is Harvey T. Dog, signing out! Until next time, everyone! 

Hunting on the HiLine 2014, Volume 4: A Nice, Big Rooster!

Today I bring you a belated post of our last hunting excursion of the season. 

While my family was here, we took them up to the Lost River WMA for some game bird hunting. The day was pretty nice, with the temperature right around 30 degrees, minimal wind, and sunshine. The hunt was lead by Harvey, who stomped, sniffed, and pointed his way through the brush along the riverbank.  Jeff was right behind him, then the rest of us followed along behind. 

Right way, Harvey got on scent. Jeff was the only one carrying a gun, so he stayed right with the dog while the rest of us were occupied with the task of crossing a barbed wire fence. Of course, that's right when Harvey pointed and flushed the bird. I looked up just in time to see the bird fly up and Jeff take his shot and nail him cleanly. A nice, big rooster pheasant! 

Harvey shot over to where the bird landed. By now, I was over the fence but my family members were still in progress. Not to say they take a long time, but just that pointing, flushing, and shooting a bird only takes flashes of seconds. So, we missed Harvey's retrieval process, but Jeff tells me we still need to work on Harvey's soft mouth. If we were really serious about hunting him more often, we also probably would never play tug-of-war with him with his dog toys as that only reinforces the same behavior with game birds... and no one wants to eat pheasant that's been the "rope" in a tug-of-war match. 

Harvey did relinquish the bird fairly quickly to Jeff and I placed it in the backpack. We spent another hour or so hiking around looking for birds, but never did find any more. 

Later in the weekend, we enjoyed the meat in one of our favorite preparation styles, something I call Pheasant Poppers. Unfortunately, I have no pictures, but I'm sure you can imagine. You cut the usable meat off the carcass, then cut into small bite size pieces. Place a jalapeno slice on top a piece of meat, then wrap the whole thing with bacon and put on a skewer. Repeat until all meat is used. Then grill until done! So simple and delicious! If you're averse to pheasant, or don't have a hunter in the household, or bird season is over (which it IS in Montana), then you can use chicken or any other type of poultry you'd like. There's just something about bacon on the barbecue, too... YUM!

So, that's a wrap for Hunting on the HiLine 2014! We'll be back again next fall with more hunting adventures! Until then, hopefully there's something on PrairiePonderingsMT that will keep you hooked. Stay tuned for tomorrow when I'll be launching a new weekly series on the blog! Can't wait for you all to see what it is all about! 

Hunting on the HiLine 2014, Volume 4: Week Of Hunting

Last week was the week of hunting around here! Jeff's friend Jeremy (remember him from This Post?) was here for the whole week. He's easy to host and fun to have around. Then, Jeff's Uncle Collin and Aunt Patsy arrived on Sunday and left on Wednesday, also for hunting purposes. They were staying with Tom and Carol, but we all got together in the evenings for meals.

Time was spent in the Lost River Wildlife Management Area and surrounding environs (again, read the post I linked to above for more info) and also in the Sweetgrass Hills, as the two primary hunting areas, with some excursions around old-standby coulees, too.

Because I was at work during the day, I did not go along on any of the hunting day-trips. Thankfully, Jeff shared some of his photos with me, so that's what we'll post on the blog this time, along with some info that Jeff did share with me about how the hunts went.

This photo (above) was from the hike into the Sweetgrass Hills. It had snowed a bit overnight, which typically means it's easier to spot elk. This particular view is looking back from the Hills to the surrounding flat-land. Pretty cool how the Hills just sort of rise up out of the prairie.

They guys actually did spot a group of elk right away, but were unable to take one home with them.

That's Jeff's Uncle Collin looking back at us.

Even though they day resulted in not bringing an elk out of the mountains after all, it sounded like everyone really enjoyed the hiking, as evidenced by the enthusiastic retelling of the day's events over dinner. Jeff said he learned a lot about what to do next time, and also that he just enjoyed being outdoors. He also said that it was cool to see the headwaters of Sage Creek, which is the creek that runs through our family farm, providing fresh drinking water most of the year to our cow herd.

At the bottom of this ravine is a very thin beginning of a creek, fed from a spring.
Thus, Sage Creek is born!

Much of the rest of the week for Jeff and Jeremy was spent driving around some of their usual haunts, looking for deer and elk. They did a lot of driving and A LOT of hiking in the coulees and along the Milk River. By the end of the week, Jeff and Jeremy had reached a number of conclusions about the deer population this year.

First, it appears as though the deer numbers are not actually less, as some around here have said, they're just spending their time in different places. With so much CRP having been taken out in recent years, it makes sense that the deer would seek different places to bed in safety. Namely, the coulee banks and ravines. Jeff is thinking they spend their day in the coulees, then feed on the flat lands at night.

Second, for some reason, there does not appear to be as many large deer in our area this year. Jeff and Jeremy spent significant time surveying the scene, and the deer that Jeff eventually shot on the last day of their hunting week was one of the largest they saw all week.

So, with that all being said, if you're planning on hunting in this area this year, remember two things: You're probably going to have to hike, and you're probably not going to shoot a record buck this year.

Jeff with this year's buck.
Not a record by any means, but not bad given what they saw in our area this year.

Hunting season is not over yet, so there's still time for Jeff to shoot an elk. Jeremy and his wife are coming up again in a few weeks, and they'll be looking for deer still, too. And, on top of all that, we have hardly taken Harvey out bird hunting, either! So, stay tuned for more Hunting on the HiLine updates as the fall hunting season continues!

When Farming, Running, and Hunting Collide...

... You drive a few miles up the road to drop your husband off at a vehicle he had spotted, jog out to take a look at a winter wheat field and then back to the car, while wearing blaze. 

That's how my evening run went today!

I had planned on running when I got home from work. Wednesdays are a great day for running because I typically get home a little earlier. The weather was good when I got home, too. Good as in Not Terribly Windy. I was all gung-ho to take the dog and go.

Then Jeff said he needed me to give him a ride up to the field where he'd parked a rig. He needed to take that vehicle back to his folks' house, then drive his own pickup back home.

Ok. No problem. I changed into my jogging clothes and we three (me, Jeff, Harvey) loaded up. Jeff handed me my blaze orange safety vest and I put it on in the car. Hunting season is open. Better safe and SEEN than sorry. Harvey was suited up also.

All suited up in blaze and ready to run!

We parked and Jeff left and then Harvey and I started our jog.  Soon, Harvey chased a large Antelope doe. I hoped that doe was not in someone's rifle cross hairs as we ran by on the road, or if it was, that the hunter also saw us in our safety vests. No sign of anyone around, though. Nothing to fear.

Who's that handsome hunting, running Vizsla? It's Harvey!

We went out to the edge of one of our fields, then back a ways, then cut North to the only tree on our farm, back to the road, back to the car. Roughly three miles. Not a lot, but still good. Lot's of direction change, varied running surfaces, and visual landmarks made it easy to work in some surges and speed mix-ups.

See the tree?
See the dog?

And, I did stop to take a photo of the winter wheat to show Jeff.

Winter wheat in the furrows. Lookin' good!
Guy should have some winter wheat in the ground. :)

Then back in the car and driving home, Jeff arriving back at the same time. Quick typing out the blog, and then on to dinner!

Headed home. Nice clouds tonight. 

Training Harvey to Hunt

Today, I have a special treat for all the dog-lovers out there! I'm excited to announce that I had the great honor of working with Jessie over at The Right Fits on a post about training my dog, Harvey, to hunt game birds. So, really, this post is for the hunters in my reading mix, too! Read below to get started, then click on over to The Right Fits to read the rest of the post on Jessie's blog! 

Photo taken shortly after we got Harvey, September 2010.

I still remember when Jeff announced to me that he knew what kind of puppy we’d be getting. At the time, we were engaged, but not living together, and talking on the phone daily.

He had been rattling on and on without much pause about this type of dog that I had never heard of before. He was excited to tell me that these dogs were energetic but snuggly and affectionate, very intelligent, and were excellent hunters. I could take him running with me if I wanted to, and on the farm where we’d be living he’d have plenty of free space, and Jeff would train him as a bird dog. He wasn’t going to be too big, and he was really clean—with short hair and a habit for licking and cleaning himself…. Jeff kept going naming all the virtues of this mysterious dog breed I had never heard of before.

“Wait—what kind of dog is it?” I had asked.

“A Vizsla!” 

We picked up Harvey as a puppy from a breeder in Iowa, while on a trip there to visit my family. This was about four years ago, in September. Harvey rode all the way home with us as a teeny tiny seven-week old pup with huge ears, blue eyes, and a cute little pot-belly. We loved him from the start. He would be our companion, best friend, running buddy, snuggle-man, and hunting guide from that day on.

For the REST of the story, click on over to THIS POST on The Right Fits! While you're at it, check out some of Jessie's other posts, too. She does a fantastic job! 

Harvey in a barley field, late this past summer.
Pretty handsome guy!

Want to read more about our hunting adventures? Here are a few links to past posts on hunting with Harvey that have appeared on PrairiePonderingsMT.

From October 10, 2011: http://prairieponderingsmt.blogspot.com/2011/10/hunting-on-hiline-part-ii-harvey-and.html

November 4, 2013: http://prairieponderingsmt.blogspot.com/2013/11/hunting-on-hiline-2013-vol-1.html

September 11, 2014: http://prairieponderingsmt.blogspot.com/2014/09/hunting-on-hiline-2014-volume-1-opening.html

Hunting on the HiLine, Volume 3: River Morning

This time of year, our house becomes a hunting lodge. On weekends we are not in Bozeman, Jeff's buddies or family members are at our house, hoping to find an antelope, deer, elk, or birds. Usually, the company is pretty easygoing and fun to have around. I join them on their hunting excursions whenever I can.

Last weekend was opening weekend for two new animals. Antelope Rifle season and Pheasant season both opened. Jeff and his friend Jeremy went out early Saturday morning and both got their antelope right away. Jeremy had a buck tag and shot a nice animal. Jeff only had a doe tag, but got his right away, too. 

That left the rest of the weekend to go after some pheasants. With the opening of the Lost River Wildlife Management Area last fall, we have found an excellent new pheasant habitat, very close to our house. We also have a great dog to show us the way to the birds! 

The Lost River WMA is about 10 miles from our house, but if you were to simply look at comparison photos of our farm next to some of the WMA, you'd think you were in different worlds. The landscape is completely different, with the Milk River carving out steep cliffs, breaks, and coulees. It makes for some pretty wonderful scenery. Knowing the setting and lighting would be perfect, I brought my real camera and snapped some photos of this highly photogenic place in the morning glow. 

It was a beautiful, crisp fall morning with no breeze to speak of. We spent about two hours hunting and Harvey lead us to several rooster pheasants. As always, what I enjoyed the most was watching Harvey work, and simply being outside in a beautiful place, with people I love, and with nice weather to boot. It was truly an ideal morning! 

Starting off on our hike.

Harvey is surveying the scene.

Jeff and Jeremy.

Milk River, near Canada.

I really wish this photo hadn't turned out a bit blurry. Need to work on improving my camera skills.
Guess I'll have to go back up some morning and try again! 

Milk River.

I do need to continue to refine my camera skills. I have also thought about using Lightroom or some other basic photo editing program to sharpen my images for the blog. But... sometimes I feel like I spend enough time on the computer as it is.

Also, for those few of you who may have already read this posts, sans photos, here it is again! I have been traveling a lot lately and trying to edit and upload posts using the app on my phone. I haven't mastered that yet, either. This is how I had always intended this post to be, with photos. :)

I've got lots of great blog post ideas coming up for the next few weeks, so stay tuned!