Bugling elk, cattle drive, and falling leaves

October already - where did the time go? Crisp air, every variety of apple for sale, golden leaves blowing in the wind - aahh...

I know I've talked about this before, but in fact, our only traffic jams are cowboys moving cattle. Really. An out of town friend recently said to me, "You know, when you say the cowboys came and moved the cows out of Star Mt., it's not normal. The rest of us live in the city."
Okay, get that. But it's a reality here, case in point, yesterday leaving Star Mt. I noticed "evidence"(cow poop in large quantities) on the road, relieved I was going the opposite direction for a dentist appt. Met them anyway coming back hours later  from the other direction. Very friendly cowboys though, just telling me to drive slooowly through them. Gotta love it.

The pace has changed here, people are starting to talk about snow and the ski season to come. October is traditionally a month of change, leaves falling and snow coming down in little bits, just a teaser... We have fires going in the fireplace every morning now. And no worries about wood supply - 11 cords here (multi year supply). Anyone need any?

Elk have returned to Star Mt. I awoke to bugling and thought it was a trick of sound that it appeared so close, but jumped to the window after the second noise. A dozen or so were running across the bottom of our hill to the woods on the other side. Missed the head guy though, think he was at the head of his harem. Hope to see him - heard him in the woods this morning on my walk, bugling a warning that I, the nasty human, was close by. It is a big month for hunting, and they know it's protected on Star Mt. (except for the common ground across the road) and our neighboring ranch.