THANKSGIVING AND AN UPDATE

Connie and I traveled to Salt Lake City to have Thanksgiving with her family.  As always it was a great time and fun to see all.  They go all out in decorating and cooking.  It is a long drive but well worth it.  After dinner we were treated to many piano recitals by the kids and adults.  What a wonderful and talented family they are. 

The table is always set up so pretty. 

These cookies are made by Devan,s wife Summer and were used to show where to sit.  And they were edible and very good.

The downstairs is always decorated so pretty.

And the expert carver of turkey and ham - none other than Bill.  He has been doing the job for many years.

Connie and her sister Wendy with a couple of Devan and Summers kids.

The front room.

The kids ready for desert. 

We left Salt Lake a day earlier than we figured on because a storm was coming in on Friday night and Saturday the day we planned on coming home.  Glad we did as the storm did materialize and the roads got slick.  We woke up to some snow Saturday morning.  

 

Some pretty wet snow.

Still have lots of deer around.

Walking through the trees.

The Bitterroot Valley from Deb's point.

Snow was still falling to the east of us.

UPDATE 9 NOVEMBER 2018

Hunting season is still in full swing here in Montana.  There has been some success on our place.  So far there have been 5 elk and 2 deer taken.  In the Willow Creek area where we live, there is a herd of approximately 100 head.  Some folks are saying it is over a 100 but no accurate count has taken place that I know of.  They have come through our place a number of times.  That number is just to high for our area.  And there are lots of whitetail deer also.  So the fences and pasture lands are taking a hit.

We have been cutting down a few trees for wood also.  Lots of dead trees standing that make good wood for the heating stoves.

A few pictures of the elk and the ones that hunters have got.  Each hunter can get a bull and a cow if they have the proper tags.  The fish and game folks are trying to reduce the herd which is good.

Ross and Brenda by the lightning strike tree.

Elk in the field across Willow Creek road.  The lady on the 4 wheeler has just pushed cattle off the field to take them up to the corrals.

One of the cows taken.

Carl with his bull.

Doug with his bull.

Carl with his cow.

Zeph watching over the cleaning process with his orange t-shirt on.

Carl and Ross cleaning up the limbs from one of the trees.

Click to enlarge and see swans, snow geese, and Canadian geese headed south.

The large white birds are the swans, the black wing tipped ones are the snow geese, and the others are the Canadian.