October 2021

POTD: The Glutton

The Glutton
American Prairie Reserve, Montana
2021

This prairie dog didn’t seem to be suffering from any malnutrition due to the drought. I don’t know much about prairie dog towns but it sure seemed like their presence in an area was detrimental to about anything growing nearby–we saw large areas around them devoid of vegetation or nearly so. This particular prairie dog and his/her buddies were busy extending their tunnel system into some greener pastures surrounding one of the stripped areas. Since prairie dog towns have been part of the prairie ecosystem forever it seems, I’m sure this apparent devastation is nothing to worry about on an ecosystem scale, but for any individual critter of a another species in the area competing for the same food source I can see it might be of considerable concern.

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POTD: Knee Deep in the Muck

Knee Deep in the Muck
American Prairie Reserve, Montana
2021

I would be concerned if I were stuck up to my knees in mud, but it did not phase these bison who have plenty of muscle power with which to extract themselves. This water hole with it’s small surrounding area of green grass was quite an attraction for the bison for obvious reasons.

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POTD: A Hard Country to Love #2

A Hard Country to Love #2
American Prairie Reserve, Montana
2021

Yesterday, when I said all the bison we saw at the American Prairie Reserve seemed to be doing well, I should have said that all the ones we saw up and walking around were doing well. We actually saw several dead bison while out exploring around. Whether they died due to the drought, harsh winter conditions or something else entirely is unknown to me.

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POTD: A Hard Country to Love

A Hard Country to Love
American Prairie Reserve
2021

The part of Montana where the American Prairie Reserve is located has been experiencing exceptional drought conditions this year. (Exceptional drought is the worst of five levels of drought possible.) Still, the bison we saw seemed to be doing fine, at least to our untrained eyes. Perhaps we just can’t see the effects the drought is having on them or maybe their good condition just points to how well suited they are for living in this part of the country.

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POTD: Views From the Pond #16

Views From the Pond #16
Bozeman, Montana
2021

Years ago we planted a single aspen tree sapling next to our pond. It has grown to about 25 high over it’s life so far and we now have multiple new aspens that have sprung from its spreading roots. All these aspens came from that same first tree and grow close together in similar soil with similar moisture availability; so why is the the only one that turns red instead of the usual aspen yellow in the fall?

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