I missed my regular blog appointment last night. Between laundry, my nightly Hayden Valley visit and an earlier than usual bedtime I didn't get a chance to sit down. Yesterday I was in grocery again. It was once again cloudy and rainy. I had to wear my fleece jacket because the wind would blow in on my register every time the door opened.
Unlike the other evenings the weather did not clear up for me after work, in fact, it started snowing. It was hard to see across the valley with the sheets of snow blowing in but I did manage to spot a large herd of bison in the northern part of the valley. I wasn't sure if all the bison in the valley were congregating there or if a new herd had moved in. Moving down the road I came across another large herd and I have surmised that the first herd was a new one. That's great news and pretty soon bison jams will become the norm for the season again.
And after at least a week of them being there I finally got to see my first elk calf in the valley. It was a tiny little guy (or gal) who spent the time nursing while mama licked it and kept a keen eye out for predators. The elk herds are getting larger in the area so I'm sure this is just the first of many elk calves I will be seeing in the valley.
On my way back to Canyon I saw a couple vans pulled to the side of the road with a woman waving her arms wildly in the air. Her and her family were a mere 10 feet from a bull elk with a velvety rack (one of the famous Boys of Summer). Instead of getting in her van she thought it was a better idea to try and shoo the elk away from her. This particular elk is always grazing by the side of the road and pictures can be safely taken from vehicles so I'm not sure why people feel the need to get out of their vehicles and stand immediately in front of him to take their pictures. One swat with that rack will give a visitor an experience they will never forget.
I awoke this morning to a few inches of snow on the ground and trees. It continues to snow and I am once again assigned to groceries so I'm dressed in my Yellowstone General Store fleece.
