Winter Landscapes XIV: Ninepipe Lake

One winter traveling through Western Montana on the way to the National Bison Range, I stopped at Ninepipe Lake (a good summer birding spot) and saw two animals out on the lake. As I got closer it became obvious these "animals" were human. They were ice fishing on the lake:

A Few More Buried Treasures

I am not entirely sure why I am doing a post with winter photos when it is August. Maybe it is because we keep having days over 100 degrees and I am longing for some cooler weather. But, what do I know? I'm not Freud ----- or, Columbo.

I also don't remember why I was at Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge in the dead of winter. I think I was in Western Montana primarily for the National Bison Range, National Wildlife Refuge and thought I would see what was at Ninepipe. The short answer is not much in the way of wildlife  --- except for these two Ice Fisherman out in the middle of the lake.  I always think of Minnesota when I think of Ice Fishing, but it obviously happens in Montana too.

Fishing on Ninepipe Lake, Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge, Montana

On the other hand, when you get up into Alberta, and the temperature is minus 11 degrees, the only living animals you can find are those that don't have warm homes. Such is the case with these two Caribou that were out in the middle of Medicine Lake.

Caribou on Medicine Lake, Jasper National Park, Alberta