The River Has a Mind of Its Own (Cont.)

Every spring the Gallatin River Floods. We're looking at the blowoff gate of the Gabriel Ditch which you can't see because it's 3 feet under water and clogged with logs. The idea is that the blowoff gate keeps the field below from flooding by acting as a safety valve. But if it's clogged with logs . . .

The logs float in and stick around. Last year we got some heavy equipment to clear it out. It took a few days

This year we may have some help. Beavers built this new dam a little ways upstream from the blowoff. Our neighbor, third generation rancher Joe Axtell who has watched the Gallatin flood since he was big enough to stand up, says he reckons the flood will run right over the beaver dam. He's probably right.

Last month we cleared out the logs with a winch and by hand, under the supervision of the dog.  We hope it'll work.

We have a few more tricks up our sleeve. But you never know. Come May the Gallatin could slink down the middle of our pasture and carve off a new island for itself. (to be continued) 

A MOOSE, A MOOSE, WE SAW A MOOSE!!!!

Late Saturday afternoon, just before dusk, we set out to drive down Axtell-Anceney Road. Third generation rancher, Joe Axtell, is our next door neighbor two miles away. 

click to enlarge

Charles Anceney founded the Flying D ranch (now Ted Turner's 113,613 acre ranch)  that stretches from Yellowstone National Park to (almost) Joe Axtell's ranch.  

 The old dirt road winds along to tops of ridges and down into valleys.

Suddenly Kathryn yelled STOP. STOP THE CAR!

 

Kathryn knows a moose when she sees one.  We thought this one might be guarding a little calf down by the creek. But we weren't about to go down and have a look. It was huge, twice the size of a cow.

We're thrilled to have a moose (and a mountain lion, black bears, deer & Sand Hill cranes) for a neighbor. She can come visit any time she likes.

Deer murder at the Double Ditch Ranch

 

Tuesday morning I went out the back door to get the paper and there were some big feline tracks.  My size 13 boot is on the right. (these 1st 3 pictures were all taken the day after the attack so the evidence is a little fuzzy.)

Later that morning we found a flattened deer at the bottom of the ditch behind the house.  In the summer, the ditch looks like an English trout stream and it is full of trout.  But it's drained in the winter and the deer use it as a highway. 

  The victim looked like it had been flattened by a 500 lb. eagle.

Indeed a bald eagle showed up the next morning to help the magpies, bobcat, and fox clean up the leftovers. But he was a long ways short of 500 lbs. and he swore he was not the perp.  No way he could knock over a full grown deer.

Our rancher neighbors say, no question, it was a mountain lion.  Joe Axtell, whose ranch is next door, lost 35 sheep to a mountain lion two winters ago.  The mountain lion didn't eat the sheep, he just killed them for fun.  Joe and his neighbor, rancher Dan McReynolds, hunted it down and shot it.  They had it stuffed and it now stands in McReynold's living room.