Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch

Whenever I see a light colored, "larger than duck" bird on the pond behind the house I tease Clark that we finally have a swan. This could be a large Canadian goose or a pelican. Two days ago I pointed out our new "swan" and grabbed the binoclars to see what we really had. With my handy Golden Field Guide to North American Birds, I excitedly identified the new guest as a juvenile tundra swan.

The swan arrived alone but soon was accepted by several mallards. I think they realized that he was finding the best feeding areas and they could benefit from whatever it was turning up. He liked the deeper, far side of the pond where the long neck was useful.

We have had a pair of adult sandhill cranes and their two offspring that appear a couple of times a day to hop and flop around and generally aggravate the local goose population and to compete in the tugging at and ripping out of the shore grasses.

The geese were grazing and napping along the shore and up the creek. The cranes had wandered behind the dam and I became involved in making breakfast. Ten minutes later I happened to glance out the window and saw all of the geese squeezed into an elliptical cirle fifteen feet from the shore. Thinking that was odd I looked closer to see a large bald eagle, very white head and tail, swooping above the tight floating armada. Safety in numbers! When he couldn't break up the group, he flew across the pond and made one last swoop at the water scaring the swan over to the protection of the geese.



Clark came in from feeding and I asked him if he had seen all the action, but alas he hadn't been in view.

Standing in the livingroom, smoking a cigarette and waiting for breakfast, he says "Come and look at this."Outside of the picture window, across the yard in the alley to the corrals is a small whitetail doe. A bit spooky, she goes back into the corral and a four point buck comes out of the gate. He waits nervously in the alley for her. After a long wait, the cats on the porch cause a commotion and they both run off.


Finally finishing our breakfast of wholewheat pancakes and ranch eggs, Clark takes his aleve and a nap and I go to meditate. While meditating on what is, which is the wind, it occurs to me that a long,cold windy winter is imminent.

Wyoming Wind

There are all kinds of "air velocities". A breeze tickles the leaves on a tree and gently brushes the tops of grasses. "Breezy" may describe bouncy pine boughs and dancing tumbleweed. "Wind" starts to move larger objects around and but may still not command your attention. In the initial stages, "Wyoming Wind" resembles a commuter train that you have gotten used to hearing as an underlying rumble. In a full tilt boogy, the Super Chief has just roared by, over and over again, sometimes for days on end, fanning the flames in the dampened down wood stove. With an unsettling rattle of windows, trembling houseplants, and creaking roof, the constant intimidation can be quite maddening until out of exasperation you cry "ENOUGH!!" to no avail. Wyominites who survive the winter winds with their sanity intact, truly realize the blessing of a still day.





Text © 2004 Mona E. Dunn