YELLOWSTONE'S WILD WORLD

It has now been about 4 days since I last took a photograph.  Is that weird or what?

I went home, to my place in Gardiner for a few days, with a very long list of tasks to complete but ended up quite ill and having a few terrible asthma attacks that scared me pretty good.  It had been years since I had asthmatic symptoms so you can imagine that I was ill prepared for this one.

For three days I sat at the computer and whittled away at different tasks but the going was slow.  And, my landlord left the house terribly dirty and so there was the beginning of cleaning up after her – not something that I had planned for.  Nor do I have time for cleaning up after myself, let alone someone else.  It is what it is.

I was torn between wanting the quiet serenity of my trailer in the woods and needing to get work done.  I am still torn, even though I am on my way back to the trailer.  The traffic between Gardiner and Mammoth was pretty slow, while on the NE side it is easy going.  And, it is so much cooler than Gardiner, though both sides seem to have their share of storms going through.

The life of a photographer and writer is not all about being out in the field, in fact it is more about gathering the material and then buckling down to do the editing and writing.  But, I want to be outside always.  At the same time I yearn to be successful with my photography, writing and this site.  So, always there is a tug of war.  And, so I return to my trailer, knowing that my days in the woods are limited now and soon it will be time to go home, finish cleaning, move back in again, and take more time for the business end.

In fact, I received a very long letter today, from a good friend who lives at the ocean.  What a special treat – a handwritten letter to read when I get home tonight.  I believe it is 12 pages long!  On page two she says that she wishes that I would take time for myself, time to just be, one day a week.  I believe that in honor of our friendship and her wise concern that life is too short to always be working, I am going to try taking Saturdays off with the goal of hiking, reading and watching a show on Netflix.  And, sleeping in.

Another thought that I have had is to make a schedule and go in for a certain number of mornings, returning home by noon, and then go in for a certain number of afternoons, leaving at 2 or 3.  Unless something good is going on of course.  I can’t afford to go home during the afternoon and return later in the day and I need to cut my days shorter so there is more time for the computer work.  Now that I have the computer that will do the job!

And so, since I haven’t taken photos for a few days, you get my musings on what it is like to try and balance my time in order to get everything done.  I don’t do so well because nature easily distracts me.

As for what is going on in Yellowstone – the bison carcass in Little America is still there and still not acceptable to the predators.  The old cow did not have much left on her and I am sure she was pretty tough.  The Junction Buttes are being seen and it sounds as though the Lamars have a carcass to the east.  There is some concern that they will take the pups out to the carcass with them – I sure hope not.  So far the pups are staying in the new rendezvous site and it seems as though everyone is settling in.  Just unfortunate that food is so far away right now.

And, there is a carcass in Hayden, near Trout Creek, that is drawing quite a crowd but really too far out for photos.

That is about all I know right now.  People are getting to see wolves and that makes them very happy.  Now if I can just keep them in one place until my friends make it out here to see them!  Good luck!

Will be back out with camera tomorrow, as long as the asthma attacks subside tonight.  Will find out if they have been caused by something in the house.

Oh, the deer fawn!  You would not believe how many I see everyday, between camp and Pebble Creek!  Lots of twins and some triplets.  Pretty darned cool that they are doing so well.