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Marty’s photo of the day #4793: Flowers have been in bloom all over the Essen Wildlife Refuge these past two weeks. Despite living here since 1996, neither Deb nor I had thought to identify this flower until she did it a few days ago. It’s a yellow salsify, which, unfortunately, is a flower introduced from […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4788: In the summer, I move my office/writing room out to the front porch, which allows me to gaze out at the top level of the Essen Wildlife Refuge. I also have a motion-sensing camera that is roughly 100 yards straight out from the house. It doesn’t surprise me when […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4781: The short story of Deb and me moving to Montana is that we had rented a cabin from a friend-of-a-friend on the East Fork of the Bitterroot River at the far southern end of the Bitterroot Valley. It was 1992, and we were driving home to Minneapolis after renting […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4779: At the Essen Wildlife Refuge (i.e. the 25 protected-for-wildlife acres where my wife and I live) we have an upper and lower level. The lower level is lush forest with a seasonal pond. Since we moved to Montana, in 1996, that pond has filled itself every spring and emptied […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4759: Two days ago, I checked the motion-sensing cameras that we have hidden among the trees in the Essen Wildlife Refuge. This creepy guy showed up in a spot where he almost had to walk right past one of our many No Trespassing signs. If someone makes arrangements ahead of […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4758: The “wild” in wildlife is pretty much a guarantee that whatever it is will refuse to be predictable. My wife’s college roommates and their husbands came to visit from Minnesota this past week, and most had heard about all the wildlife we have at the Essen Wildlife Refuge. But, […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4744: Our dog, Nellie, gets the credit for this photo. Last night, we were out for a walk in the Essen Wildlife Refuge, when she insisted something to play with was under a log. I thought she’d found a mouse, but it turned out to be a western skink. When […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4743: Here’s a moose for your Monday. Photographed on the Essen Wildlife Refuge (Montana).
Marty’s photo of the day #4721: I captured this somewhat grainy image with one of my motion-sensing cameras. For 28 years, my wife and I have protected our 25 acres as the Essen Wildlife Refuge. In the grand scale of Montana, our acreage is hardly anything. Nevertheless, people like us are sometimes castigated as greedy […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4708: Two wild and crazy turkeys, ready for wild and crazy turkey sex! (Motion-sensing camera photographed at the Essen Wildlife Refuge)
Marty’s photo of the day #4704: This is another photo of our spring moose, Martha. She has been hanging out in the Essen Wildlife Refuge for a few weeks now. Unless I’m traveling, not a day goes by that I don’t walk at least part of the 25 forested acres Deb and I protect for […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4700: Here at the Essen Wildlife Refuge—the 25 acres at the edge of the mountains in Montana that Deb and I protect from hunters, loggers, and four-wheelers—we have always had a consistent population of moose. Sometimes we only see their scat and tracks; other times we will see them in-person […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4685: Playing hide and seek with a big bull elk, last summer, on the Essen Wildlife Refuge.
Marty’s photo of the day #4683: Yesterday Deb (wife), Nellie (dog), and I were on our evening walk, following the border of the Essen Wildlife Refuge. Nine out of ten times, Nellie will see wildlife before either Deb or I do, but she was off in a different direction when I spotted this big moose […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4661: Yesterday, I didn’t post any photos from my “This Week at the Essen Wildlife Refuge” series that I often post on Sundays. That’s because at this time of year, the animal life in front of my motion-sensing cameras slows down substantially. Nevertheless, I’ve decided to share this recent, rather […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4660: Other than Yellowstone National Park, The Amazon Rainforest of Peru, or Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe, I’ve never experienced more consistent wildlife sightings than on the Essen Wildlife Refuge (the 25 acres Deb and I own and fiercely protect, surrounding our house). Rarely does a day goes by […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4605: Six-and-a-half weeks have passed since Nellie got her new bionic left-rear leg (CCL removed, knee refitted, and a metal plate with six screws installed). Deb and I have one more week of sleeping with her on the pullout couch mattress placed on the great room floor before moving up […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4592: Great gray owl, photographed on the Essen Wildlife Refuge, Bitterroot Valley, Montana.
Marty’s photo of the day #4581: Naptime for a baby moose. (Photographed several years ago on the Essen Wildlife Refuge, Bitterroot Valley, Montana)
