We Live in the "Daily" at our Western Montana Lodge

Although life at Elk Lake Resort is never dull, sometimes it gets quite 'daily'. We cook meals, clean cabins, and visit with guests. Nothing overly exciting happens - or so it seems.

Then I think back to the pair of Sandhill Cranes which stopped me in my tracks as I searched the sky to locate the source of their haunting calls. Or, the big bull Elk which we startled from his grazing near the banks of Red Rock Creek. According to the wolf riders, the Elk are already bugling - and have been for several weeks. Maybe this is the reason he stopped when I sent him a whistle which faintly (very faintly) resembled the sound of their bugling.

And there's the kayak ride Craig, Nathaniel, and I took the other day. We didn't see a lot, but the Mama duck with her ducklings and the various other birds which let us get quite close (as we were low in the water and relatively quiet) added to the scenic beauty to make for a perfect morning. Or, I remember the Mother and Father Wrens who chewed me out royally as I was hanging my laundry a couple days ago. They nest each year in an old stovepipe near my clothesline. And, each year it is the same. A glimpse of one of their young - a brave little fellow who looked like a smaller version of his parents and who ventured out to the edge of the pipe to see what all the fuss was about - added to my delight.

I could add the yipping coyotes the other night, announcing their return to the area (which also announces the movement of the wolves away from the area - at least for the time being). Or, I could talk about the thunderstorm which blew through the other night making quite a fanfare on its way by. Or, the hummingbirds which are regularly visiting my potted flowers. Or, the sparrows which have been chirping loudly on the front patio. Really, 'daily' life around here is jam packed with so much of the extra-ordinary, I can't begin to imagine how dull it would otherwise.

And so, even the little things, the things I can easily take for granted, give me reason for pause when I sit down and think about all I see and experience - just in the course of 'daily' life.

Lady of the Lake