Hunting Through Ashes
a coyote hunting on Squaw Mountain
Vineyard Harvest
Last week, I was lucky enough to be invited to the very first harvest at a local vineyard. They harvested and I photographed at sundown and it couldn’t have been a better time for us and the grapes. The weather was perfect and the company was even better. I made some great friends, ate some tasty food and drank delicious wine made right here in Wyoming.
The first step was to get your clippers and remove the netting from around the vines.
Sally, the owner, was telling us that last year she had a lot of grapes and came out to start picking when she noticed the vines were empty! When she looked down, birds were covering the ground, bloated and half drunk from eating all of her grapes. So this year, the investment for netting was imperative and it worked.
They carefully clipped the grapes from the vine checking for bugs and removing leaves before tossing them into the bucket.
Buckets and tubs holding twenty pounds and more were filled to the brim.
It was such and awesome experience and I can’t wait to go back. Great company, great food, and delicious wine made for a terrific Friday night.
Thank you Sally and the Sybille Canyon Vineyard. I had a *hiccup* blast!
A Time of Harvest
Happy first day of fall! I hope everyone is enjoying the cooler temps and gearing up for fall festivities.
I’m excited to be photographing the first harvest at a local vineyard this evening. I went on the Wheatland Master Garden Tour last month and discovered this hidden gem. I’m so excited to capture the process before the grapes are delivered to the local winery. We’ve had a dry week, perfect for harvesting, and it should be gorgeous at sundown.
Have a great weekend and I’ll see you next week!
Just Call Me Zippy
Ever feel like this? You run as hard as you can, but you just can’t get everything done in time?
No?
Me neither.
Ha!
I just wanted to check in with you because it’s been a few days since I’ve posted. We are getting the ranch ready for winter and there has been a lot on our To Do lists lately.
I hope you are well and I’ll be back soon with images of the summer>fall>winter transition. I’ve heard that if you blink, autumn will zip right past you. But last year was gorgeous so here’s hoping for two in a row.
See you soon,
Leah
Overcast
It’s been foggy and misty the last couple of days. The ground needs it and the flowers are loving it.
Hope this brightens your colorless and gray Thursday Wheatland! My camera and I are looking forward to your colorful autumn beauty.
New Life Begins
One evening last week, I took a drive over to Squaw Mountain to survey the damage.
It was sad to see only sticks poking out of the ashy ground.
Chirping birds seemed confused and misplaced.
Tears of sap oozed out of the charred trees.
Not everything got out in time.
Bare trees and singed pine needles filled this once lush and green forest.
Singed buckbrush leaves clung to their limbs.
But through the forest of bare trees, I could see green.
Patches of grass were popping up everywhere. I even saw some pine trees still green seeming to have escaped the fire and wrath of the pine beetle.
Thank you again to all the fire fighters that battled this monster.
It will take her a while to heal but there will be another spring for Squaw. Things will be blooming, birds singing, and bees humming. Just wait, we’ll see.
See more images from this shoot here http://www.leahyetter.com/11septnewlifebegins/
And in case you missed it, here is a link to the fire http://www.leahyetter.com/110821squawfire/
Elk Week: Bruisers
These two bulls are the favorites. The heavies.
This guy posed beautifully in the sunshine by the sunflowers.
We woke this one up from a nap and sat with him for a while.
He checked things out then started grazing.
This image feels like the cover of a magazine along with the one on Thursday.
I’m not a hunting woman, at least not with a gun. I hunt with a camera. But if you are in the market for one of these bruisers, you can book a hunt with Edwards Outfitting and see these guys for yourself.
Well, that’s it for Elk Week. I hope you’ve enjoyed looking at these magnificent creatures. The last time I photographed them, they were in the velvet. This time, their antlers were shiny and smooth with silver-tines. We had an incredible time watching them play in the mud, run through the sunflowers, and we even witnessed a couple fights. Yikes.
Thanks Rich Edwards for a fabulous getaway!
Elk Week: Babyface
As the sun went down, the young one made his appearance.
He’s got a sweet face and his coat is spotless.
His rack ain’t half bad either. Silver-tines and all.
We woke him up as the sun was rising. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and gave us a pose before he started grazing.
The “big bruiser” is coming up tomorrow and he will close out Elk Week for us. I’ll also give you the information on where to find these fellas. See you tomorrow!
Elk Week: A Favorite
Once we left the mud pit and passed by the sunflower field, this gentleman ran right in front of us and stopped at this tree. I guess he felt the need to strike a pose because it can’t get any prettier than this. This is Patrick’s favorite shot from the weekend. Not necessarily his favorite bull, but favorite shot.
Stay tuned for Babyface. He will make his grand appearance tomorrow. Until then, keep your powder dry!
Elk Week: Wallowing in the Mud
A nice way to cool off during these hot temperatures is to….well…
wallow in a mud hole of course!
Just splash it on your belly.
And lay down in it so that you get covered from head to toe.
Make sure, though, that it tastes good enough to be rolling around in.
Do some stretches to strengthen your neck muscles and scratch that itch.
Then make your way to the sunshine to dry off.
If you follow these easy steps, you’ll find it’s a surefire way to beat the late summer heat.
Elk Week: Bugling for Sunflowers
Spent some time with several bull elk,
in a sunflower field,
under the Nebraska setting sun.
We had about 24 hours of free time this weekend so Patrick and I ran away to Nebraska to listen to the bugling elk after they wallowed in the mud pits and shined up their antlers in the brush.
I have more photos to show you of these creatures but I thought I’d give you a tease before sharing the others. We’ll call this Elk Week.
Hope you had a nice and relaxing weekend!
All in a Day’s Work
Trailing at sunrise…again. It was a breezy beautiful Thursday morning.
During the fire on Squaw Mountain, Patrick and I, with a little help from a wonderful neighbor and friend, got our cattle out of the meadows on Squaw to the safety of the meadows closer to home.
Now it’s time to truck them to the Laramie Plains to join the rest of the cattle and graze for a couple of months until the calves are shipped to their new owners. These girls have done a lot of re-locating in the past 2 weeks.
The rising sun gave to beautiful silhouettes of Mark and Phil as they crossed the bridge guiding the cattle up the hill.
Once we got closer to the corral, Mark stood guard to make sure the ladies didn’t turn and go the wrong way. They needed to aim for the open gate at the sunburst.
Phil made sure they didn’t run down the fence line. And I… took pictures.
Once we arrived at the plains and loaded the cattle in the corral, we gave them time to mother up and then Mark and Phil led them over the hill to water.
It’s a long drive to the Plains from the ranch and we passed some smoking mountains. Yep, you guessed it. Earlier this week the volunteers were fighting a fire on a section of the plains. Lightning once again created a lot of smoke and flames. I didn’t go to this one so I don’t have much info. Patrick spent a full night and day at the fire until the feds arrived. This thing burned up Pole Mountain and got 50 yards from a ranchers home. Patrick is so ready for snow. I am too, but I’m just not ready for the hurricane winds that comes with it.
We stopped by the South Ranch for the guys to do, well, guy things. Count hay bales, take inventory of machinery, move horses, etc. I did my thing, which as you know, my thang is to find photographs.
This field is covered in Sowthistle. They look like dandelions but they aren’t. They are really sticky and when horses eat them, their mouths are covered in their sticky yellow juice.
Patrick says it’s Rosinweed but it doesn’t look that to me when I look in my Weeds of the West book.
Anyway, the bees like them.
Finally, we got home as the sun was going down. I drove the atv to the house and against the purple sky, I saw a group of bucks roaming the hilltops.
It was a good day and we got a lot done. Now, for a restful weekend…I hope.
Yours till the cow moooooos,
Leah
Black-billed Magpie
Black-billed Magpie
A member of the crow family, their tail makes up half or more of their total body length.
I’ve been watching these beautiful birds for quite some time but haven’t been able to get many shots of them. They are quick little guys and I love how their blue feathers sparkle in the sunshine.
Uprooted Magnolia 
4 comments