I’m out at 5AM again this morning. A light snow is falling but there is no accumulation to speak of.

My first stop is at Coyote where I see Bill and Gary. But instead of them showing me wolves, they point me to a big boar grizzly ambling below Jasper Bench. It’s always nice to start my day with a bear.

I go on to Slough and set up in my usual roadside spot.

The calendar says it’s May, but this morning’s weather belongs to March! Not only is it colder than normal but there’s a stiff wind that goes right to your bones.

Two blacks were seen early but are now out of sight. There’s not much to see for a while until a pair of bison ambles through the area, forcing previously hidden wolves to reveal themselves. Suddenly I see five Junctions (four blacks and a gray). Later I see a fifth black for a total of six.

For the second morning in a row, I do not see 907.

Mother wolves need to stay close to their pups for the first week or two, both to provide milk and warmth. With a day this cold, I’m glad she knows to stay inside.

The alpha male is here, along with GPS black 1477F, an uncollared black, stalwart yearling 1479F and a gray. I never see the gray clearly enough to see a collar or not.

One of the blacks goes up and sticks her head into the natal den. Another black wolf comes out of the natal den and they stand together on the porch a while. I have no idea whether this second black is just visiting the den or has a more serious purpose there.

One of these blacks and the alpha male each take a walkabout along the cliff, each ending up back at the eastern trees.

1479F takes her own jaunt to the east, perhaps dreaming about bison steaks in her future, but finally accepting reality that she is only one small wolf. She comes back and beds on the gully ridge. 1479 certainly has a charmingly independent streak.

The GPS black 1477F howls a bit, looking to the west, then sets off over Aspen pass.

Around 9 AM, a grizzly is spotted in the Slough bowl, so I take a quick peek in that direction. In doing so, I notice Jeremy and Rick at the main Slough lot, looking intently across the road to the south. Something tells me they are not looking at a bear.

I walk over and discover they are seeing a wolf! In fact, it’s none other than 1048M.

He’s all by himself, low on divide ridge, visible in a narrow gap between the trees lining the Lamar.

I pass this news to Celia and others, and we move our scopes so we can watch one of our favorite wolves.

1048M ends up drawing the attention of a coyote, who takes it upon himself to retaliate on behalf of all northern-range coyotes by repeatedly biting the wolf on the tail or rear end, then dashing away. 1048’s only response is to bare his teeth and growl.

The coyote leaves for a while but returns with a recruited partner. This second coyote takes one look at 1048 and immediately bails. The original coyote gets in a few more nips then wisely considers his point made. He leaves the area and 1048 lowers his head to sleep in peace once more.

I suggest 1048 is here because he is still in love with 907F. But I wonder, does he yearn to be back with the Junctions? Does he dream of 907? Or is he simply taking a nap? Regardless, it’s good to see him.

When I turn my scope back north to check on the Junctions, they are all bedded, too. I hope the spots they chose are out of the wind.

I see an opportunity to have another chat with Jeremy. He confirms that Mollie wolf 1410F has likely denned in their usual spot. He also says that the 6th gray with the current 10 is another Junction male who has at least temporarily joined the Mollies.

I go back to watching 1048 nap.

Around 11AM I say goodbye to the wind and crank up the heater in my car for the drive back to Silver Gate.

However, once I get back, I find Laurie is in more pain than yesterday and she and Dan are preparing to leave in order to go back to Bozeman for another xray. I bid them goodbye and good luck and off they go.

I head back to Lamar around 4:45 and stop at Footbridge to join Gary and Paul. They have two bears in view: one on the first finger of Norris and another down in the flats by the creek. Both are good looking bears.

The wind has not let up, but at least it’s about 20 degrees warmer.

I continue on to Slough where I find Celia watching 5 adult Junctions chase a group of yearling bison down the lion meadow. At a certain point they go so low we can’t see them anymore, so I suggest we hike out the still-closed campground road.

I should have realized how bad the wind would be out here! But when I set up, I find a wolf, so I resolve to tough it out, at least for a while.

One wolf turns into two; a black and a gray, bedding half-way down the lion meadow, near the long- ago fallen tree. Looks like the bison have gotten away.

Those bison are now in the flats by the creek, bunched and staring back at three wolves. The stare-down continues for a while, but the wolves seem to know they are too strong and healthy, so they give up.

The bedded pair of wolves comes down to the flats and they start to mill about. Luckily for us, the wind dies down a bit, making it much more pleasant.

The five wolves set off to the east, passing several loops of standing water. I see three of them swim the creek and re-emerge just east of the “white castle” eroded triangle.

We lose them in a gully just left of the campground road. I expect them to re-appear near the gravel lot, but they don’t. Hmm. Where did they go?

While we search for them we find several sandhills, plus geese, various ducks and of course, bison.

I am startled by the sound of my phone ringing (there is good cell service from Bob’s Knob!). It’s Laurie, calling from Livingston. A second xray in Bozeman has revealed more broken ribs; several on the right side and several more on the left. They are already on their way back to Silver Gate.

Celia understands that I want to be back when she returns and she agrees. We call it a night, a good night, and head east.

Today I saw: 5 grizzly bears, bison, coyotes, sandhill cranes, mule deer, ducks, elk, geese, pronghorn, 7 wolves: 6 Junctions including AM, 1477F, 1479F and three others plus 1 Mollie (1048M) and the spirits of Allison, Richard, Jeff and Chloe.