What am I doing?- Part 2

What am I doing? I know one person has figured out what we have been looking for, has anybody else? Read on and you can see if you had the right idea.

I knew, though, I would be able to find them. I had heard the direction the elk had gone crashing through the aspens and pines.

We got off the 4-wheelers and started to walk in the direction the elk had gone. First, we had to cross the fifty-feet beaver dam. Luckily it was August, so the water level had dropped due to evaporation and drainage. If it hadn’t, the crossing would have been impossible due to the large amount of water: we would have had to cross elsewhere.

As we made our way across the beaver dam the only sounds we could hear were the chirping of birds and the wind blowing through the trees. The logs were close enough together to walk on or there were dry spots. If there hadn’t been, we might have fallen into the stagnant water.

Soon we crept up the embankment. I turned to the others behind me, put my finger to my lips, and softly said, “Shhh.” Although we crept up the hill as quietly as we could, there was the sound of pine needles crunching under our feet. Soon I could hear the elk stamping and calling to each other. I waved with my hand to continue. We kept walking and soon I could see them.

I motioned to everybody to get behind a large granite rock so we could se them, but they couldn’t see us. I could see the excitement in everybody’s eyes. I thought that perhaps we could get a little bit closer to see them more clearly.

As we moved closer, the elk saw us and took off again. We must have walked another 100 feet and found a perfect spot to take some pictures. Johnna, Jessica, and Jon were stunned. They just knelt and looked at the elk over the edge of a lichen-covered rock, while I took the pictures.

This time the elk didn’t know we were behind the rock. The twenty cows and calves were majestic against the white-barked aspens, dark pine trees, bright green grass, and the gray granite rock in the clearing. They just called to one another and grazed. Some of the calves were nursing and others were playing. The calves butted one another and tried to be king of a small mound. This was the largest herd of elk I had seen up close. For me it was the most riveting wildlife experience ever. I could see in Jon, Jessica and Johnna’s eyes that this was an experience that would influence their wildlife watching for the rest of their lives.

Did anybody else know this is what I was doing? There is even more to this story. You will have to wait for another day.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up on a 100 year-old ranch in the mountains of rural central Wyoming. The mountains are beautiful and each of the seasons are pretty in their own way.

Spring has the the snow thawing and the rising of the creeks. The spring rains bring flowers such as sunflowers, wild iris, buttercups, Indian paintbrush.

The summer has more flowers of the same flowers and green grass. In August the grass turns brown. It is the sagebrush that is noticed then. The sagebrush is silver-gray and it looks like a grey stormy sea. That is one of my favorite things to see.

Fall brings hunting season and the yellow leaves of the quaking aspen. Sometimes you have to be quick to see the leaves change, beacause can have an early frost and the leaves will be brown. Drive safely on the road because there will be hunters driving as they are trying to find elk, deer and antelope.

Winter brings the wind. I never really liked the wind, but some days are better than others. The wind blows much more in the winter. This winter the wind must have blown continuously at 50 mph for one entire day. It causes the dust and snow to come in the windows and the shingles to blow off the buildings. Some of the shingles have been for decades and some have not been there very long, so it is interesting to see how the older buildings have been built much better. I do like the snow in the winter. It can get pretty deep and it is fun to ski, sled and snowmobile.

I really enjoyed growing up in the mountains of Wyoming and I make sure I take my children there every chance I can.

What are your favorite 15 things?

Write down 15 of your favorite things and then save them for your writing prompts.

1. No wind
2. my children
3. my husband
4. God
5. rasberries
6. 4-wheelers
7. spring time
8. elk
9. my family
10. west of the Mississippi
11. Montana
12. England
13. food
14. a good book
15. dogs

What is your favorite hobby and why?

My favorite hobby is photography. I like being able to take pictures of everything to see what little things I can see in the bigger picture.

My favorite thing to take pictures of is elk. I have yet to have the best lenses for taking individual pictures of elk. I have taken pictures of herds of elk. In central Wyoming it is not very hard to find large herds of elk on their summer range. I have even taken pictures of elk and antelope with cattle.

I also enjoy taking pictures of nature and people. It is unbelievable what types of nature you can find in the park or even in your backyard. I have enjoyed taking photos of leaves, flowers and grass in our yard and the squirrels in the park. My kids are wonderful subjects. They are young enough to have been born when we already had a digital camera. They have had thousands of pictures taken of them. They enjoy posing and can be disappointed when they are not included in the picture.

I am glad that digital cameras have been invented so I can take as many pictures as I like and bad pictures can just be deleted. I know I will always be able to improve my skills and enjoy the pictures for years to come thanks to digital cameras and my favorite hobby photography.

And the answer to “Write a Riddle” from December 6, is cafeteria dishroom!

Where does a hermit live?

Hermit

Surrounded by pines
High in Horse Canyon
Is a hermit’s log cabin.
The chinking is falling
From cracks between the logs.
There are holes in the roof.
It has one room
With a stove, bed, sink,
Couch, table, and chairs.
It may seem like nothing,
To him it means his life.
He doesn’t mind
The poorness of it,
Wind through the pine tops
And howl of the wolf.
The creek and mountains
Give him what he needs.
Sitting on the bank of smooth Sno-Shoe Creek
He catches trout and suckers.
He hunts in the mountains
For bear, elk, and deer.
It’s the solitary life he leads
And beauty of the wilderness that he loves.

My blog has been put on this blog carnival site. Go check the other peoples blogs out too. ttp://www.missyfrye.net/Blog/?p=1033This is to let you know the Just Write Blog Carnival, hosted at Incurable Disease of Writing, has been posted.

Write about a dream you can remember.

Trophy Room

A dream of falling from a balcony
Toward an unknown brown leather couch
In an unknown room filled with trophies,
Animals from Africa; lions, gazelles, hyenas, water buffalo
North America; wolves, bears, elk and moose.
I never reached the couch. I woke up.

Years later, my boss’s house, the trophy room
I found my nightmare,
The room, balcony and couch.
Hard to go to the balcony,
The fear of falling forever.

City or country life?

Trapped

The elk’s bugle
The coyote’s howl,
Wind blowing aspens,
Seas of green grass,
The great Rockies,
That is what I miss.
The city- too crowded,
Rush of people,
Buildings too tall,
No clear air.
My soul is trapped.
I need silence.
I need mountains.
I have to leave,
To be free.

Write about your favorite place

Write about your favorite place

Boxelder Canyon

Bugle of bull elk
Howl of coyote and wolf
Wind through firs and pine
Large drifts on edge of trees
Cozy fires on stormy nights

Next day glorious
Sun glistening off snow
Cold winter wind
Miles without a soul
There are signs
Elk, bear, and lion
Looking for food
Cold air bites cheeks
Smell of wood smoke
Cures cabin fever
Happiness

What do I tell my family on my deathbed?

As I lay here on my bed dying of a rare form of cancer, I have some words of advice to give all of you, no matter the age. Although the younger generations would have a better chance of a lifetime benefit.

First, always make sure you eat a well balanced diet. It is so important to continue to eat all the fruits and vegetable, I would not follow any food pyramid, but I would say it is not all wrong. I would like you to still eat meat, but make sure you do not eat very much and do make sure it is the leanest meat, like elk. Do not eat the unclean meats. Sweets and alcohol are fine in moderation, but make sure you only take what is the healthiest. I know that most of you will not heed me, but it is best for you if you do.

And MAKE SURE YOU EXERCISE!!! There are so many different ways of exercising today. I have never tried the Wii, but I hear it is lots of fun. I am not to particular on how you do it, but please do.

The final thing that I am going to say is that follow the guidelines in the Bible. Jesus is our savior and we need to strive to be like him. I know that none of you can perfectly be as Jesus is, but you can work hard to try. And you can be so thankful that Jesus died so that if we mess up once in a while we are still saved. Just read and study the Bible, during the week when you are not in the fellowship of other Christians and you will have a life that others can only believe in. REMEMBER MONETARY WEALTH IS NOT IMPORTANT.

Thank you for listening to my words. I know you will have a wonderful life. May God bless you.

For those of you who read this, if you would say something different I would be interested in knowing.

Write a 26-word story where every word begins with a different letter of the alphabet

Dad has a pink bat with orange jelly. Cat goes limp. Frank kicks Mouse’s nest. “Run, stay, yellow zebra.” Elk has x-ray van. Umbrella is quick.

Three different areas to spend $500 million

If I had exactly 500 million dollars to spend and I could only spend it in three different areas, I would first give 200 million dollars to the very poor in the areas of the United States that need it the most. I would give it to different churches, food banks and shelters. I would make sure that it would be given to organizations that are very reputable and have the means of reaching the people who need it the most. I think that using the pay-it-forward system would work well. If I made the condition that if I help those then they would help the next person they felt needed help, perhaps then we could really help those around the world. I feel people are so wrapped up in worrying about people in the rest of the world they forget about the many homeless and those people who just need a little bit of help here in the States. I believe in helping the people at home first. If we can help our citizens to be stronger, then more people will be able to help those in the rest of the world. And I am sure in this current stage of economic slow down there could be many people in our own communities that could use the help.

I would then buy land in the critical winter ranges of the Rocky Mountain Elk. I would spend 200 million dollars to procure land in Wyoming, Montana, or Colorado. I know this may not buy much land, but I would look for land in the greatest danger for development. I would put as much of the land as I could into a conservation easement with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. I will use some of the land to raise cattle and possibly begin to have the dude ranches that I have wanted for a long time. I would be constantly looking for ways to improve the ranches and make them better for those who use them in the future.

I would take the last 100 million dollars and invest it in rental properties. Rental properties would be good in this economy as so many people are downsizing. The prices of my rental properties would be most reasonable as there are so many people in need of good housing all over the United States. I would keep working for a living so I can pay for my children’s college. It is always beneficial to start a career with no debt.

I would always make sure my money was working for me in the best way to help others. I am sure there are many other ways to help people with this amount of money and if other people have ideas I would love to have them. I just wish that I had that much money so that I could help people in the way that I desire, I need to remember that there are many small ways of helping people with little or no money.