I have a theory about this world we live in. I know I’ve said it here before, but it just proved itself to me again on Monday evening and I feel I have to share it once more.
Because there it went spinning outside the windows and walls of this little home in the buttes and I found myself catching my breath again…
because life is just one damn masterpiece after another.
And that is my theory, in case you missed it the first time.
Because on Monday evening after my day was coming to a close–a beautiful, 70 degree day spent cooped up in the house answering emails, scheduling, making phone calls, organizing and checking things off my list–I stepped away from my desk and moved to the kitchen to shift the cans in my cupboard and pretend to think about dinner–the next task. But just as I was giving up on the idea that I would come up with some sort of brilliant meal and heading toward the front door to fling it open and splay my body out on the deck to catch the last afternoon rays, I was met through the window of the door by pops, wide-eyed and looking urgent…
the first human person I had laid eyes on for a good twelve hours.
“Whew…hey there…you scared me…whats up?”
“There are elk on the hill right across from the house…just saw them as I was driving in…a bunch of them…”
“Really?”
Here is where I will explain that before I even uttered the word “really” I was already heading for my boots, snatching up my camera and throwing on a hat…
…and pops was already in his pickup, behind the wheel and shifting into drive.
That was all the exchange we needed right there.We knew what we were going to do.
Because elk are still a rarity, a treasure, a bit of an oddity on this landscape and we needed to witness this, we needed to get in close and watch them pass through our world.
So as the fluffy clouds rolled on over the farmstead, creating patches of shade and sunshine on the brown ground, pops and I bounced along in the green Dodge, turning off of the road and toward the elk herd–a site that would have gone unnoticed by eyes less trained and in tune to the landscape.
See, pops is the kind of guy who is always looking. After years spent as a rancher the man is always scanning the horizon for something amiss, something important, out-of-place or occasionally, if he’s lucky, something spectacular.
And Monday he found the spectacular and chose to share it with me.
So in the green Dodge pops drove toward where the wind was right so the elk wouldn’t smell us. And when it wasn’t advisable to go any further with the pickup we stopped, opened the doors and stepped out into the landscape. As soon as the doors latched, just like that pops was on the hunt and it was like I was twelve years old again walking behind his strides in his footsteps as he snuck up on a big buck–always so eager to come along, pops always so willing to allow me the experience.
Over the fence and along the side hill we reached a point where we had a spectacular view of the herd and I snapped some photos while pops counted and recounted under his breath…”three…four…ten…seventeen…I think there’s about seventeen, eighteen there Jess…”
We sat there watching the two bull elk as they moved toward the rest of the herd, discussing whether they had antlers, using my telephoto lens as binoculars. We watched them graze along the flat below the clay buttes as pops explained to me in a hushed voice the way elk graze and what kind of grasses they eat.
I am not sure how long we sat before pops made the decision to get closer, but seeing that the beasts didn’t suspect we were there he took off at his hunter’s pace down the steep hill and along the muddy cow trail before leaping, without pause, in his cowboy boots and spurs through the wide and moving creek.
I followed diligently, a good ten steps behind, wondering how close we would get, wondering if we would spook them, wondering if the herd would be there when my ponytail appeared over the clay knob.
Pops slowed his pace and stepped softer.
I did the same.
He crouched down.
I crouched down.
He stopped.
I froze and held my breath.
“The two bulls, they should be right over there. Right over that knob. Get your camera…go ahead…you should get some great shots…”
I looked at him, little sweat beads forming on my forehead, and for a brief second (because that’s all the time I have in situations like this) I wondered how he was so sure of the exact location. How was he so certain after a fifty-mile-an-hour trip through brush and mud and a raging creek?
But it didn’t matter. I believed him. Because in my experience with pops and things like this he is always right.
Always.
And he was right again as I flung my hat down in excitement and crouched and belly crawled and peeked my way over the knob to find before me something I had never been so close to in the wild of my backyard in all of my 27 years.
I was shaking as I pulled the camera up to my face, certain that the beasts were going to bolt at the first click of my shutter.
But it was as if I was just a little breeze, a bug in the grass as the mighty bull elk lifted their noses at the sound.
I clicked and took a few steps closer…
and clicked again.
The elk froze, looked me directly in the eye…and nuzzled each other.
I looked back for pops, whose black hat was peeking over the hill. He nodded.
Encouraged, I put my sites on a bald bump in the landscape, thinking if I could lean in on that I would be close enough to almost reach out a give their noses a scratch.
I snuck.
They stared and snorted a bit.
I crawled and crept until I reached my destination, laid flat out on my belly and clicked my camera in a panic, certain now that they were going to run from me at any moment.
But they stayed.
They looked.
I stayed.
I looked.
And although I know it wasn’t possible, even from my ideal distance, I swear I could feel their warm breath…I swear I could smell the dust on their shaggy coats…I swear I could hear them sniff the air as I held mine.
I swear I have never been so close to something so wild.
We sat there like this, the three of us looking at one another, and the magnificent elk posed for me, taking turns walking in an out of my shot until I exhausted all possible photo opportunities and the elk were no longer curious.
And after hours, or minutes, or seconds, slowly and reluctantly we turned away from each other, sneaking glances back over our shoulders, wondering what we had just witnessed…
…wondering what the other was doing out here in a world that, just moments before, belonged only to us.
When I was growing up out here I never laid eyes on an elk on this ranch and as pops and I walked back to the pickup he informed me that, until recent years, the beasts never passed through this place at all.
And it makes you wonder where they are going, what the grass was like where they came from, how many women with wild ponytails they have watched sneak up on them…
and how long they will stay.
But mostly it makes my jaw drop in awe that while I am busy living my life between walls and windows and the nook of the barnyard, these creatures are living their lives, grazing, snorting, shedding, pawing, living and moving on through my backyard, into my life and out again, free and magnificent as the wild wind.
I may never be that close to the nose of an elk for the rest of my life and I could have very well missed it, just as I have most certainly missed them passing through dozens of times before.
But I didn’t.
I was there.
Pops was there.
We were there.
Right smack in the middle of yet another masterpiece.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch... 
Magnificent animals and how wonderful that you and pops were able to trail them and get up close and personal. Awe-inspring for sure. Thanks for sharing with the rest of us.
Arletta
Arletta, it was sone of the most spontaneously amazing things I have done out here and I’m so glad I had my camera so I could take you all along with me 🙂
Breathtaking. I can feel the stillness in the air in these pictures. The elk are so beautiful! What a special encounter.
Hi Country Girl…the elk were so spectacular, especially up so close. They are so huge and I think they look a little bigger out here on the rolling plains…there aren’t as many mountains to compete with. Hope all is well!
How cool was that!!!!!!!
I know right! Amazing!!!
Well done, gal. Great sneaking. So lucky to still have your dad. I loved this.
You are right Lissa. I am very lucky to always have that memory.
Wow, awesome! I could feel the excitement and sense of adventure while reading. Great shots!
WOW. That’s all I’ve got. I’m jealous. And just need to move West. The end.
Congrats on the great shots!
Haha, Rachel. Yes, move west young woman! We would love to have you 🙂
Oh man… do you think they’ll stay? You might find a shed around your place? It reminds me of when my hubby and I camped out in the hills in September, as bow season had begun. We woke up early the next morning, sore, and drove over as the sun was rising. What we came upon was about 50 elk, beginning the rut, and the big bull led the way with the two smaller on each side, encircling the cows to protect them for themselves. It was a beautiful sight.
What a special moment to share with one of the great men in your life!
We saw them again the other day. It seems like they are moving from one pasture to the fields in the evening. They are pretty spectacular…and tame. I love your story about watching the elk…those kinds of moments are unforgettable and priceless.
Wow, that meets all the criteria of a great day!!
It most certainly was a spectacular end to an ordinary Monday.
You are a very lucky girl–to have a father like yours, and to witness such magnificent creatures up close. I envy your life as I listen to the road construction south of me, as the rain pours constantly and the planes roar overhead on the way to OHare. Someday, I will have my simple life, but, right now, I vicariously enjoy yours.
Glad I can give a little glimpse into that simple life you’re waiting on…it is busy in it’s own way around here, but we just need to remember to slow down and take in the special things about the place…I think that’s the ticket.
This post was so beautiful it brought tears to my eyes. And of course I shared it with my husband. Thanks so much.
Thanks Irene. It was quite the magical experience indeed..something I won’t soon forget.
WOW Jessie, All I can say is WOW!! I know a few people who would have loved to be there with you…..thanks for sharing with us though!!
So glad I was able to capture it on camera! Pretty amazing.
Oh Jessie! What an amazing experience! I love that you have those magnificent beasts in your backyard. I love that your Dad’s first thought was to show them to you. I love that your “sneaking” has improved such that you got that close to the elk. And I love that you shared the experience with us. After reading your previous blogs, I enjoyed your “Life is one damn masterpiece after another” quote so much that it’s on my facebook page, credited to you.
Thanks for making my day!!
Nancy, I really appreciate that you recognized that my sneaking skills have improved enough to actually get up close (I left the swishy pants at home). And love that you passed my motto along…I think if we remember to recognize those little masterpieces every day we live a life more aware, more appreciative. Thanks for coming along on my little journeys!
Awesome pictures Jessie. i love your website. Western North Dakota is one awesome masterpiece.
later
Daniel
Thanks Daniel. I agree about Western ND…one rugged masterpiece that is full of surprises.
Thanks for sharing. Pretty pictures!!
Thanks Letitia. I hope all is well!
Those are the things I really miss about living in Wyoming. 😦 Great pictures, makes me remember my back yard and taking for granted all the wildlife that used to be there.
Stacey, isn’t it amazing what we can find out our back door when we take a moment to really look? Hi to the kids and the hubby from us. Maybe someday you can take a trip to the ranch…
Once again you capture the spirit of western ND and pops.
Jeff, I have definitely done my fair share of sneaking up on wildlife with that man in my lifetime…this was one of my favorite moments.
God bless men like Pops who know the land well enough to recognize something worth lingering over. Even though I grew up in the country and saw plenty of deer and the odd moose, I’ve never seen a veritable herd of Elk like that. Spectacular!
I love his hat and do believe you’re a favorite of his for him to share something so magical with you.
wonderful, simply wonderful.
MJ
I don’t think I have ever been that close for that long to something so wild…they just didn’t seem to mind me at all. I felt like I could pet them if I wanted to…and I definitely don’t think I would have attempted to get that close without pops’ assistance…a true and expert sportsman.
How amazing to be so close to nature like that and to share it with your pops! Great photos!
I have to add to the list of “wows” here — this was a delicious read! Your writing is a gift to enjoy, Jessie! Like only a great writer can do, I was there, smelling the dust of their shaggy coats, feeling their breath, waiting on the edge of my seat for the next moment of purest joy to unfold. And every girl’s dream — to share the excitement of adventure with their dad.
Thank you for sharing your world with us — and with such eloquence and grace. I have been regularly reading your blog, each time knowing I was in for a treat. The depth of your experiences resonate with my own — with so many of us — who look to others with the gift to say it for us!
May winter behave and move on for good this time. Happy Springtime!
Wow, great photos! I get chills just looking at them. I would love to have been there! They are such cool animals, so huge and majestic. Awesome!
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