The fawns here at The Ranch are just a tad over a month old now. One was dropped right next to the house this year, but we didn’t find it until it walked off. It’s a good year, we have two sets of twins and two singles, and starting about ten days ago, they started to spend time with us when we are out and about the property. It seems about once a week or so, play day is at the back of our home on the grass. We’ve caught the five or six fawns bouncing about for fifteen to twenty minutes as the does are off to the side, just watching. The fawns seem to play chase, tag, relays, and almost any running game you can think of. They are so much fun to watch and it doesn’t matter if it’s 05:00, 22:30, highnoon or pouring rain. When it’s time to play, it’s time to play! A couple of times, all this activity has drawn in some big bucks. They look on for a moment, seemingly reminiscing about when they were fawns, only to come back to thought and wander on. And when it ends, it ends as if the recess bell has rung. And at that moment, they all go to their appropriate utter and drink. We love this time of year as there’s frolicking going on.

You might have been at it for days, and still only a pic here and there. It seems every time you have the hummer in the viewfinder, focus sharp, and the arrangement of elements just perfect, you push the shutter release only to capture an empty frame. That’s because these speeding bullets might change direction, or more often, are being chased or are chasing another hummer the moment you want the photograph. It can get to ya I’m here to tell you!

Then, for the hundredth time, it all seems to align in the viewfinder, and you go to press the shutter release, and the hummer is still there! You take a second, third, fifth, tenth shot, and the hummer is still there in the viewfinder! It’s dancing for the camera providing angles and attitude and lots of color! The hummer in your viewfinder is just hovering in place, giving you the thrill of a lifetime, a moment you can’t believe your eyes, you’re enjoying. And then as soon as it came, it’s gone, but you count your good fortune. It’s why I keep going out over and over again. it’s the joys of wildlife photography! Cause after all the failures, the moment comes.

The Mountain Goat is an amazing critter that literally hangs out in some of the most rugged and inaccessible locales in North America’s northern regions. For many years last decade, we would travel to Glacier Nat’l Park to have opportunities to be with them. Now, they literally live in our backyard, that’s if you can go vertical seven thousand feet. These billys were over in the Gallentins doing what Goats do at least once a day, if not twice, and that’s to come down to water. The high perches where they spend most of their day tend to be quite dry once the summer sun comes. There’s very little, if any, free water, so they go to the water. They still had their winter coats last month when I photographed them, making the summer heat even more intense. Making shots so they look their best and not moth-eaten is a challenge.

Photographing them in all their splendor with full, clean, white coats has long been a desire of mine. Finding the local in winter where I can make that happen has been though unsuccessful so far, which is a disappointment. Hopefully, we can make that happen. Until then, I take enjoyment in seeing them when I can during the long summer in white.