It's amazing what you see around Northern Michigan

Saturday morning starts out with our dog kinda acting a bit weirder than usual...a glance out the window and we see this big fella and all his girl friends tearing down our snow fence, and eating up some of the hay bales we had marked out our grass track with! 1 Bull, 10 cows. (sorry for poor image quality - the light was very low - I really had to do some fine turning with the computer to get it to look this good)


Then, a matter of a few hours later...we see some different wildlife bombing around...these seemed to go a bit faster though......

Yep...it sure is a tough life living up here...but I figure someone has to do it... :nener:

yup...sure did


(you looked at my post before I figured out my car pic did not post...!)

Morgan - I love that one!

I just got off the phone with Sheila - evidently this morning (of course AFTER I head to work!), there 29 elk in the field! 3 happy bulls (only one big fella) - 26 cows or young uns. Sheila got some pics - if there are any good ones, I will post some here. We have NEVER had (or at least seen) that many around here at once. Max in the past was 12, all Bulls. Neat to see.

Some MAJOR pucker factor when you come hauling around a corner on a bike to see an elk blocking the trail. I have had that happen twice - I clearly was the more startled one - the elk just stood there for a second chewing its cud...then slooooowwwly wandered off.

Oh Woodsy...next time you ride my grass track - there is going to be...uh...added incentive to select where your crash more carefully...if you choose a bad spot now, I suspect you will really be saying "OH S#$T"!

spktm2 said:

There is no northern michigan south of the bridge, just trolls and....elk

spktm2

Click to expand...

Holy wa, der eh? Dem der flatlanders tink dey got it good, don cha know. Dey aint got no beer though, cordin to dat der sign in da snow.

At least I'm a former yooper, for what thats worth! :nener:

Now the elk are getting a bit pushy!

Last week it was the wilderness show again out in the field - abour 30 elk kinda spread out over the field. Then, 14 deer run into the east edge of the field, pause, then run full tilt into the midst of the elk herd! A minute later - 4 coyotes come running out of the trees. The deer run off, the elk bunch up tight - and 3 cows start marching towards the coyotes - heads down, marching on without hesitation! The coyotes wisely run off....

5:10 AM this morning - we hear a "thump" coming from downstairs, on the north side of the house ...what was that? A quick peak out side and we see some elk standing, literally 10 feet or less from the house! We had put some hay bales (pulled them off the grass track out in the field) to create a wind break near the house (we get lots of wind out of the north west)...those damn elk were eating off the hay bales, literally right up against the side of the house! 15 or so, including the big fella.

So, Sheila walks downstairs to get a closer look - and sees out the entrance door (on the south side of the house) a bunch of elk almost stadning ON the front porch - eating some shrubs! She opens the door yells at them to leave her shrubs alone - the elk on the north scamper off maybe 30 feet, then turn and stare at the house - and within minutes start walking back up to the house!

Later, I am on my way out the door to go towork, and the van and truck are parked out side, about 4 or 5 feet apart - tons of elk track, practically a run way in between the two vehicles!

After I get to work, I look at my filthy, road salt encrusted van...and notice these odd "smudges" all over the side of it, and on the windows - yep....elk tongue and lip prints all over the side of the van!

We have been seeing the elk almost every day since they first appeared around here. Saw them Saturday while out showshoeing on our neighbors property just south of us. They were- all yarded up - huge area torn up.

We have lived in this place for 6 1/2 years - never in the past have we had the elk around like this...

Yep...we live in a neat area! :cool: