This morning, I find the snow has finally stopped. It’s quite a bit colder, at 28. The snow crunches under my boots.

Luckily, the plow has been through, and the road is easy to drive.

At Round Prairie, a bright full moon peeks through a gap in the clouds. It feels like a warm embrace from nature, a reward for passing the May snowstorm test yesterday.

I get another treat when I see a red fox is hunting in the willows on the north side. I like seeing this beautiful animal in its proper environment, rather than begging along the road.

At Slough I join Rick in the gravel lot, as usual. It takes a few minutes but soon we get our first wolf when 907 emerges from the den. She walks downslope and beds near the gully.

We move to the Little Hill, joining Mark and Carol, Maureen & Rick, Dale & Fay. Kathie joins us, too, as does Jeremy. We can see more of 907 from here, She seems to be alone today.

Bill H calls in a grizzly sighting in the lion meadow. Someone else spots a second grizzly up above Horizontal Forest. As I scan for the second bear, I find one with two heads.

Then I realize it’s a courting pair. But they are beyond courting; doing what Shakespeare called “making the beast with two backs”, in the act of mating.

This livens up the morning considerably.

The big, dark boar is draped over the back of the smaller, classic-colored female. They remain that way for nearly a half hour.

During their “engagement” a third grizzly appears just to the west of the happy couple. This bear shows its excellent manners by passing discreetly above them, and heading east, almost on tip-toe.

I take a look back at the wolves in time to see 1478F come out of the den. She is followed by the three pups. She takes them on a short wander to the east. 907 notices and goes up to them. 1478 moves up and beds above the den while the pups now follow 907 back underground.

Dale finds a black bear family low on Middle Ridge to the south. The sow is grazing on a forested slope, while her two cubs happily scamper up and down some dead trees. They are very entertaining.

Below us, a coyote crosses the campground road, heading to the flats.

907 comes out again and heads to the spring meadow for a drink. When she returns to the den the pups come out to greet her. She lays down and the three little darlings climb and tumble all over her. She nurses them for a while, lying on her side, looking quite content.

Then she leads them back inside for their mid-morning nap.

Krizstina finds another black bear family. This one is behind us; a black sow with two cinnamon yearlings. They are far enough away for safe viewing but it’s a much closer viewing.

The cubs are much less playful than the coys to the south. They are very busy learning what to eat and what to ignore. The family continues east and eventually out of sight.

1478 now goes for another walkabout, first to the spring meadow, then down a level towards the creek. Another level below her, a pair of coyotes give brief chase to a lone white-tailed deer.

1478 seems to be in no hurry, nor with any particular plan. She sniffs here and there, wandering casually. Her attitude is very chill. To me, being a babysitter to these three pups has transformed her from “obsessive” and “anxious” to calm and confident.

She beds a while until the coyotes notice her. They take exception to her presence and rush upslope. At first, she flees, but when the coyotes get close, she suddenly wheels, charging the closest one, making contact.

Both coyotes stop, caught off-guard. 1478 stares at them, baring her teeth, taking a defiant stance. No doubt she is growling up a storm.

The smaller animals retreat and after a while, she resumes roaming before bedding again. After about 10 minutes, the coyotes re-appear, having recruited a third member. They rush upslope and again press their attack.

So many times, I have seen a single wolf forced to run with a tucked tail from three determined coyotes, but not today. 1478 stands her ground, abruptly charging when any of them dares to get too close. She keeps all three at bay with a minimum of effort. They have her surrounded but seem smart enough to sense she is just not having it today.

It doesn’t take long before the coyotes give up. They head back down to the flats while 1478 reclaims her bedding spot. I have a new appreciation for this gutsy young wolf.

We see other critters from the Little Hill this morning, including several pronghorn, sandhill cranes and yellow-headed blackbirds. There are ample ground squirrels peeping all around us. And a single bald eagle perched on a tree branch, eating something.

Krizstina and I especially enjoy a particularly pretty picture that develops along a quiet loop of Slough Creek. Three bison cows, each with a trailing calf, walk in a line along the bank, their moving bodies mirrored perfectly in the still water.

Kathie gets the award for comedy spot of the day. She is looking for the golden eagle that is known to nest high in the cliffs east of us. And she does find a pair of birds perched up there on the precarious ledges above the campground road. Not an eagle but a pair of geese!

1478 now heads back up the slope towards the den. She stops in the spring meadow for a drink, then goes to the sage den. No sooner has she bedded than the pups burst out, climbing all over her.

One black pup ventures nearly two feet away from the den all on its own, before it scrambles back to safety. After behaving adorably for a few priceless minutes, all three go back inside.

After this, the action slows down, so I head to my car. We have been hearing reports of bear activity at the Boulder carcass, so I head there to check it out.

I find an adoring crowd of perhaps 200 people including at least one ranger watching a grizzly enjoy its free meal.

I watch, too, for a while, then head back east.

In Lamar Canyon, I can see how yesterday’s snow affected the river. It’s noticeably higher and quite frothy.

Lamar Valley itself looks quite a bit greener, perked up by the ample precipitation.

I stop at Dorothy’s to scope the area since it’s so pretty, finding elk, bison and pronghorn, as well as a single bald eagle near the traditional nest.

At Trash Can I briefly joined a throng watching a badger and a coyote to the south.

It’s been a very good morning.

After a break in Silver Gate, I head back in around 5PM

At the Slough gravel lot I find Matt. He tells me the alpha male fed 907 around 4pm but there are no wolves in sight at the moment.

We look towards the golden eagle nest, finding a single adult sitting there. Kathie’s comedic pair of geese have fled. Perhaps they are touring other nests.

I look for wolves a while longer, but they remain out of sight. Next, I go to Long Pullout. I want to try to find the grizzly sow with three coy from a few days ago, the one that seems to like the cliffs of Specimen.

Luck is with me, as I find them pretty quickly a bit west of the cliffs. They are very high up, on a patch of green next to a long spear of snow. The tiny coys are just darling; romping about, very playful.

Mom is digging on the steep green hillside next to the snow patch. Her claws send a few baseball-sized rocks rolling down. One of her cubs chases the rocks downhill. When the cub catches up to the rocks, he/she paws them around like soccer balls, then seems to realize how far away mom is, and gallops quickly back up.

So cute.

I share this sighting with a family who stopped in this lot to watch bison. They have never seen a grizzly before, much less cubs!

I notice that two of the three cubs have silver faces while the third is dark. After a very nice 15 minutes, mom leads the three of them out of view behind a cliff.

Now I go to Boulder to check the carcass. There is a bear feeding on it but I don’t know if it’s the same one I saw this morning. It’s legs look wet and I wonder if it swam the river?

A single coyote waits nearby, impatient for its turn. Numerous ravens squabble over which of them got here first.

When I get back to Silver Gate, I find a cow moose munching away in the marsh in the front yard. She moves about, passing right by my parked car.

That’s a nice way to end my day.

Today I saw: 8 grizzlies including 3 cubs, 6 black bears (including 4 cubs) yellow-headed black birds, bison, coyotes, sandhill cranes, two bald eagles, a golden eagle, elk, a fox, geese and goslings, a moose, pronghorn, 6 Junction wolves (AM, 907F, 1478 and all three pups) and the spirits of Allison, Richard, Jeff and Chloe.