It’s not foxy Friday yet, but I thought a little fox cuteness would be good for the day. This is an older shot, can’t remember from when but most of the snow in the area has finally melted now.

I’ve never seen any place locally where common loons nest, so I assume they only migrate through to locations further north. When they do come through it is certainly a treat. Their call is one of the most haunting sounds in nature, right up there with an elk bugle or a wolf howl. I’ve spent some time recently photographing loons as they pass through and it’s been a lot of fun but challenging too.

This photo illustrates why cross fox and silver fox are considered “forms” or variations of the species Vulpes Vulpes, or commonly called red fox. In order to be a subspecies of the red fox, these two forms would need to be isolated genetically and to not interbreed with “normal” red fox, though they are certainly capable of doing so. But both silver fox and cross fox variants share the same geographic areas and produce offspring that can show the genetic variant or also produce “normal” red fox kits, as seen here as a kit interacts with it’s father

I’ve been photographing migrating waterfowl lately and was extremely fortunate when this eared grebe decided to swim right past me. As he swam, he saw a fly on the water and successfully lunged at it. He was by himself most of the time but did spend some of his time following a larger western grebe around

Took a short drive a few days ago, leaving before sunrise, and came across this scene. A large herd of elk were moving away from the road with the early morning light hitting the peaks of the Madison range. Since these weren’t elk from the national park and aren’t habituated to people, I knew if I got out of the car they were gone. But I didn’t have the angle I needed from the car window, so I opened the sunroof and poked up through it, using the roof to support my lens. The elk were fairly cooperative and the encounter really got my adrenaline pumping. What a great start to the day!

Good news and bad news…
As of today, I am once again able to accept, print, and ship orders! If you’ve ever wanted one of my prints, now is a great time as we certainly can use the orders! The bad news however, while Xanterra is planning on opening their Yellowstone operations on June 15th, all of my book signings for the summer have been canceled and the Old Faithful Inn will not be open. As far as I know, my prints and books will still be available for purchase possibly at Lake Hotel, but I won’t be doing my weekly signings anywhere in Yellowstone this summer. Please do what you can to support your local artists who make a living at what they do!

With backyard birding winding down now that the bears are out and active, I’ve spent some time going through photos from earlier in the year. This American goldfinch is one of my favorites, because I typically only photograph them in their “not as bright” winter plumage. But this male showed up a few weeks ago pretty much decked out in his summer colors and posed nicely for a few moments. I have to admit, I love it when that happens!

It’s late April and the bears are out. Cubs of the year will be out soon too, if they’re not already. While I know many are disappointed Yellowstone is closed, I think it’s a good thing. Not only are the animals getting a break from the early crowds but when cuties like these two show up, people tend to forget about social distancing and shoulder to shoulder crowds aren’t the best thing right now. We owe it to each other to be safe and to be responsible and do the right thing by everyone.

Here’s a couple of fox kit buddies to hopefully put a smile on your face.

I have to admit I haven’t felt very motived to post lately. When I came across this image again, I decided I wanted to share it since it always puts a smile on my face. I took this image many years ago and I don’t think I’ve shared it before. The fox kit was running back to the den because it’s mother had just shown up with a mouthful of goodies