Living

Winter Elk Herd on the Move

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQOw3NqloMK/

This herd of elk has been hanging around all winter. They woke us up Monday morning at first light calling to one another — you can hear one “cow call” on the video (over my windshield wipers/car engine).

We’ve had varying numbers in the yard — this big group, one even bigger, and then a core group of about a dozen. We both woke up late one night a few weeks ago — clear skies, full moon, and two dozen elk bedded down right outside our bedroom windows. It was magical. Like a big interspecies slumber party.

I'm a writer and editor based in Livingston, Montana. I moved to Livingston from the San Francisco Bay area in 2002 in search of affordable housing and a small community with a vibrant arts community. I found both. LivingSmall details my experience buying and renovating a house, building a garden, becoming a part of this community. It also chronicles my efforts to rebuild my life after the sudden death of my younger brother, and closest companion, Patrick in a car wreck.