First Bison Calf of the Year!

We spotted the first bison calf of the year on the ranch last evening!

It’s an amazing thing, and it gets more and more magical every year.

Starting in early April, we go on “calf watch,” which is precisely what it sounds like: watching the herd periodically and looking for that first calf.

After a long winter, it’s always an exciting time of year.

And, for me, it genuinely seems to get more magical each year.

I spend so much time with the bison that their huge size becomes normal to me; my perspective on what’s a large animal gets skewed.

Being around and among a bunch of one-thousand-pound bison becomes the norm.

And then one day — one magical, magical day — I look up and see a little red dog trotting along next to its mama.

Nothing for days — and then one day — out of the blue — there it is.

And it’s tiny. Shockingly tiny.

And words can’t describe it; all I can tell you is that I love it — deeply — and it’s magical.

And it happened last evening.

Welcome to the world, little guy.

Happy Spring.

— Matt