Spending time in the wilds of the Wind River Canyon, here in Wyoming, is an extraordinary experience.  It's late February yet feels more like an early Spring.  Our Sun shines every day and the temps are in the mid-50's.  And Monday afternoon whom should I spot out my living room window?  My favorite travelers and one of the great joys of my existence, Bighorn Sheep.

     One of the big Rams and his extended family were making their way through the canyon; I'd spotted one of their big, white rumps flash in the afternoon Sun on the other side of the Wind River.  There were ten Bighorn Sheep including three adorable yearlings!  Now understand that Bighorn don't really live here, or anywhere else for that matter.  Bighorn Sheep are travelers and never, ever sit still for very long.  I can drive up and down the Wind River Canyon for hours on end and never see a single Ram.  Suddenly, there they are on their next trip through the canyon, on their way to where?  That is the mystery of Mother Nature and the wilderness of Wyoming.

     This particular Bighorn Ram has got to be the luckiest male on the entire planet, with the possible exception of Mr. Hefner.  This male Bighorn has his favorite ladies with him, and a few of the most adorable little Bighorns you've ever seen.  They're so cute it shatters my heart like a brick through glass.  You'd like to hug them....but nature doesn't work that way.  Instead I grab the camera with the big lens; I'm packing 642mm at the the sensor; lug the heavy tripod and throw it all with some water in the truck.  But I'm only going across the street!

     I observe but I do not interfere.  Sure, I've been very close to the Bighorn in the Wind River Canyon, and I have pictures to prove it.  But they belong here, and are free in a way that I cannot comprehend.  That male Ram goes wherever he wants, and has no mortgage or car Bighorn Sheep, "Portrait of The Ram", Wind River Canyon, WyomingPhotographic Portrait of a Bighorn Sheep in The Wind River Canyon, Wyoming. payments to worry about.  He has no boss that he resents, and no one can order him to do anything, or stand in line at some store with ungrateful, underpaid help.  These Bighorn eat when they want, and take naps in the Sun when they want----I watched him take a "cat nap" Monday afternoon with the kids sleeping nearby. These Bighorn Sheep, that I get such a thrill out of, are the real definition of what real freedom is all about.  

     If you're reading my Wind River Canyon Blog this week, and are one of the bazillion people that live in and around a city, it's time you got out and experienced what being free really feels like.  Nature and freedom is not far away....go for a hike!  Visit a wild place near you, or plan a trip to Wyoming and come see what mountains really look like up close.  And just maybe you'll get to see some of our residents that are more free than me......or you.

     After several hours, I had 350 digital files and a dozen short-form videos to lug through on my way to even begin writing this week's Wind River Canyon Blog.  Out of all those new images of Bighorn Sheep, one set in particular caught my artist's eye.  The late afternoon light in the canyon can be strangely magical at times, and it ripped across the golden mountain lighting up four ewes in just the right way.  The little ewe nearest to you is the daughter of the ewe next to her (say that three times real fast); she really is lighter in color than all the other Bighorn.   Bighorn Sheep - Four Little Ladies, Wind River CanyonFour Female Bighorn Sheep in the Wind River Canyon, Wyoming.      If I can figure out my new video software, then next week maybe we can finally have some video of Bighorn Sheep in the Wind River Canyon; after many, many requests.  Till then, remember to "keep your camera ready."

     For more Wyoming wildlife images from the Wind River Canyon, click on this link to my website - Hogbats Photography.

     All content of the Wind River Canyon Blog and HogbatsPhotography.com created by Michael John Balog, Wind River Canyon, Wyoming.

Thank you!