How many moose do you see? It’s not a trick, the two in the background are fairly obvious at this point. But the mist and fog coming off the river at sunrise was so thick at times, I could barely see the moose and her calf in the foreground let alone the two on the other side of the river. I actually had no idea there was a second cow moose with a calf on the other side of the river until the fog started to lift. Both cow moose were wary of each other and gave each other plenty of space as they grazed the river bed.

At approximately 10,200 feet, Mount Jefferson is the tallest peak the Centennial Mountain range which makes up part of the border between Montana and Idaho. Of all the local mountains, Mount Jefferson is probably my favorite as it’s not only beautiful to see but also makes a wonderful photo subject. Many of our local mountains really become beautiful in winter when they’re coated in snow, but Mount Jefferson, with it’s rugged peak and ridgeline, stands out year round. The above photo is one of my favorites from this winter and was shot with a telephoto lens. The blue light in this image creates a nice mood that I rarely photograph as I’m usually after the warmer tones seen in the other images in this post.

The image, above taken a few weeks after the first photo, was taken in early morning light and shows Mount Jefferson as it rises above the surrounding landscape. Interestingly, while it’s the tallest peak in the range, many nearby peaks aren’t much shorter so Mount Jefferson easily goes out of view behind other peaks depending on the angle. And since I mentioned summer, I included an image of Mount Jefferson in the summer at sunrise.

The bighorn sheep haven’t been real visible this winter but I’ve had moderate success in finding them. The lambs, even when they’re at this age are still very cute and their fluffy winter coats certainly adds to that cuteness. I often wonder what these youngsters think since they’re born in the relative warmness of spring and grow up during the summer only to have their worlds turned into a world of deep white snow for 4 or 5 months. The wild sheep population in the Lionhead and southern Madison ranges have managed to do really well to the point where they have relocated sheep from this area to other parts of Montana to help repopulate ranges that have lost signficant animals due to pneumonia. Pneumonia in bighorns can wipe out entire herds so it’s good to see this population thriving.

If you’ve been reading my posts for a while then you’re aware I tend to create self projects from time to time. This winter, since wildlife opportunities have been slow, I decided to photograph the various peaks and ranges around the immediate area, outside of Yellowstone National Park. Near West Yellowstone, Montana, several mountain ranges either start or end, depending on your perspective. The Madison, Gallatin, Centennial, and Lionhead ranges all are represented here. In some literature you’ll see the Lionhead Mountains referred to as the Henrys Lake Mountains but they are the same peaks. Black Mountain is the fourth tallest peak in this range as it rises to approximately 10,200 feet and is quite easily seen from US 20 and ID 87. In fact ID 87 runs along the base of the mountain. I’m not sure what purpose this small out-building serves but in the deep snow surrounded by color winter willows, it made the perfect foreground for this image. The foreground was receiving some nice warm toned morning light while Black Mountain in the distance was in more subdued light. The image below was taken from the parking lot for the Henry’s Lake Fish Hatchery and provides a different perspective of Black Mountain.

I’ve been meaning to post this as a Valentine’s Day photo for several years now but always forget. So this year I planned it out far enough in advance so there was no excuse. Photographed in Badlands National Park several summers ago, these two burrowing owls had taken residence in a prairie dog hole where they presumably had a nest or were about to start nesting. And a little peck on the cheek certainly goes a long way to building a happy nest. Happy Valentines!

Things started slowly this winter in my quest to find and photograph moose but they certainly have picked up over the past month. On this particular morning the cold temperatures were creating heavy mist off the river and the rising sun was backlighting it beautifully. The mist was thick so at first I couldn’t see any moose, but as I traveled along the river, I eventually found not one but two. The magical light didn’t last long though as a layer of clouds moved in and blocked the sun changing what as a wonderous scene of warm tones into one of gray light. So needless to say, I was glad to have captured this image when I did.

I wanted to share one last aurora from my Iceland trip in 2015 because it combines two of my favorite things; auroras and waterfalls. Skogafoss is a popular waterfall destination and being able to witness an aurora here was incredible. The waterfall is approximately 200 feet (60 meters) in height so it’s not a small waterfall by any means. We had started the night photographing the aurora elsewhere but as a group decided to risk the 30 minute drive here for a chance at this shot. By driving so long, we could have missed any more aurora and as it was, we didn’t have much time left before the aurora stopped. But it did still put on a good show for a short time while we were at the waterfall and that was all we needed.

The landscape constantly changes. Grasses turn from brown to green to gold and back to brown. Flowers bloom and fade. Trees sprout leaves in electric greens, then turn to the darker green of summer before turning beautiful warm tones in fall. The winter landscape is no different. I had driven by this area several times this winter and the foreground hadn’t developed into much more than a divot in snow. But as more snow fell and the winds blew, the frozen creek became an intricate pattern of detail and light and on this morning, with the fog and first light, the scene was stunning. As the winter progresses I’m interested to see how this location will continue to evolve.

It’s that time of year for Yellowstone’s wild canines, mating season. From mid to late January into February, all three species of canines found in Yellowstone are in search of a mate. It’s a great time of year because it means in late Spring there are dens full of kits and pups. I don’t have a lot of images with more than one fox in it and nothing recent so I opted to share this one from a few winter’s ago.