Happy Halloween! We often have little brown bats visit us in the summer months and even have a bat house installed for them. They’re great because they help keep down the mosquitos. A couple of years ago, this little bat became stuck on our bathroom window, so we rescued it and got it back somewhere safe. My daughter was two at the time and this bat made such an impression on her that she still talks about the experience. Nothing spooky about this little fellow.

Most wildlife are preparing for winter right now. We’ve already had some snow though it won’t start accumulating yet, except in the high mountains. Some animals hibernate through the winter months while others migrate to lower elevations. Bison have been on the move in Yellowstone and a few mornings ago I came across several large herds on the move. The light on Fountain Flats near the Lower Geyser Basin was beautiful but the bison weren’t as cooperative as I would have hoped. I wanted them to move further out in the meadow so I could nicely frame the image with the steamy background but instead they decided to walk right past the pull out where I was parked. So I stayed in my car for safety and used a shorter lens. It didn’t allow for quite the angle I hoped for but I was still able to achieve what I hoped for while staying safe.

I had to run up to Mammoth Hot Springs last week but normally I don’t stop at the terraces to photograph. It had been cloudy all morning but as I arrived, the clouds broke and some beautiful morning light lit up the scene so I stopped. Having some clouds in the sky is certainly preferable, at least for me, and the breaking clouds added some drama to the sky. The terraces at Mammoth change all the time, so you never really know what you’re going to see and there are always subtle differences. I’m so glad the clouds cooperated and I stopped on this morning.

Things have slowed back down a little, photographically, for me. In part due to the weather not being real cooperative on days I can get out into the wild. But that’s alright as I still have images I’m working on from September and early October, such as this oe of a decent sized bull moose. The early morning light and colorful willows certainly made this a wonderful photo moment. The bull was watching a cow moose nearby as he slowly tried to approach.

I recently did a large purge of older photos from my website last month. I plan on doing another one in the new future though I’m not sure when yet. I also added a few new photos. The new photos I’ve added can be seen in the “New Images” gallery and shows 24 new images from 2021. For those interested, you can find those images here.

While colorful aspens are definitely the star of autumn, rabbitbrush is one of few flowering plants in bloom in the fall. These rabbitbrush were done with their yellow flowers but they still make for an interesting foreground, especially with snow-covered mountains for a backdrop. It’s not uncommon to get snow in September and October in the northern Rockies and these snows often shut down roads in Yellowstone National Park. This image wasn’t taken there but in another of my favorite places. The beauty of Montana is that it has a lot of treasures among it’s landscapes and appropriately it’s known as “the treasure state.”

Since I’m on a theme of intimidation apparently, here’s another image that follows suit. This was on my last day looking for bull moose for the autumn, most likely and I found three bulls along with a cow and calf in this patch of willows. The light was pretty amazing too. To my eye, while not huge, these two bulls were pretty evenly matched. Yet, the closer bull was easily intimidated away by the second one over and over. There wasn’t any real aggression going on, but if the first bull started to move too close to the cow, the second bull slowly walked his direction until me moved back away. It wasn’t until I saw the photos later that I realized how much bigger the second bull was in sheer size. But I also noticed both of his antlers had been broken in half. He’s apparently had some battles during this breeding season and his antlers would have been twice this size at one point. Upon seeing my photos I realized just why the first bull was so easily intimidated.

If the look of a bald eagle isn’t intimidating then I guess I don’t know what what intimidating means. Those piercing yellow eyes aren’t only fierce but they can spot prey at great distances. This eagle was perched on a post overlooking a pond, undoubtedly watching for ducks and fish. He only glanced at me this one time. The colorful autumn foliage make a great background. I photographed him from the car, using a beanbag support to brace the long lens I was using.

As autumn began, I initially feared, with the extreme drought over much of the region, that the aspens would go straight to brown. And at the start of autumn, some aspens did exactly that, so when I found areas that were brilliantly colored, I was pretty happy. Today, October 3rd, which is also my wife’s birthday, most of the color is finished for the season though there are a few patches of colorful trees that can still be found. The location photographed above is a favorite spot not only because of the mountain background but because of the shadows and contrast that make the aspens really glow. When I can, I shoot these scenes handheld so I can work quickly and find new compositions.

Earlier this week as I travelled around looking for photo opportunities, I spotted nine moose, including two bulls. I followed that up yesterday by spotting ten moose but only one bull. Yet this little guy is still the only bull moose I’ve been able to photograph so fall this fall. The other bulls were simply too far out. But that’s ok, I have been fortunate enough to photograph several cow moose, a couple with calves. The calves are no longer orange in color at this point of the year but a dark brown like the adults. This small bull, in the photo above, was courting a cow. I imagine once a larger bull comes around, he’ll lose her. There was a larger bull in this same area a few days ago with a cow, so perhaps this guy already lost out.