Foto Friday: Willows

So quickly our willows change from looking like branches simply growing along the rivers, to having fuzzy buds, to willow leaves expanding and filling in the river banks.  Spring is early here, and each change a delight to watch.

Spring Migration

As the roads begin to open up, access to those places we call our favorites and our friends become available for a visit.  Soon the memory of winter will be forgotten as the grass greens and the brush begins to bloom and the addition of more tourist vehicles on the road steals away the quite views.  For now the awakening of spring is for those who go out and be a part of it.

On our drive we cross paths with a herd of elk moving, just as spring does, out and across the mountains.  They are seeking their birthing grounds, safe locations to have their young.  My husband (wildlife biologist) says they leave their winter grounds to return to a specific place they have gone to before to have their young.  I wonder why the cow elk would want to trek for miles, burdened with a full term pregnancy, just to have their calves.  He tells me they are migratory animals and it's what they have done for years and will continue to do.

So ingrained in the elk to migrate across ancient paths as visible to them as the mountains are to us.  Their breath, their calls and their steps are heard by us as we listen to them and watch them move across the sage.  Before long they are in the timber and we drive on, taking our own migratory route through the changing season.