Spring Helicopter Surveys

Every year, Bruce has to fly around 15 big game helicopter surveys.  This entails morning and evening flights to count deer and elk, and noon flights to count Bighorn sheep. He often, weather permitting, flies 3 flights a day, coming down for about an hour, sometimes 2 before setting off on another flight.

People often think this sounds like great fun... and Bruce enjoys it to a point- but it's so different from just taking a helicopter ride... (btw...the birds in the photo above are immature Bald Eagles).  Bruce describes the experience as similar to being on a roller coaster for 3 hrs., taking an hour break, then, climbing back on for non-stop roller coasting for another 3 hrs. etc. and all the while, he's looking down out of the window, and trying to count AND classify all the animals running below. NOT relaxing, and quick to get old.

(Okay... I'll warn you now, that although this post seems like it should be about Bruce's helicopter surveys... at some point, it's going to morph into being about our two horses.  I do hope you enjoy horse photos. :)

When the kids were little, they LOVED Spring survey time.  VERY often, Bruce would have the helicopter land in our front yard, while he and the pilot came in for some coffee, and cookies. ONCE, the pilot flew Bruce AND the kids back to the airport! WOW! Very cool! And Bruce would always have the pilot buzz over the top of the house. The kids would listen for the chopper, and go piling out the front door, waving and jumping up and down, yelling to their Dad.Great fun!

Well... the kids are gone now. But Bruce still buzzes the house from time to time, and I still tear outside, with the Shelties, to wave excitedly.  This year, the wind was so bad, and the ride was so rough, that he had the pilot set down in the field next to our house so they could have a little break!  

The horses had been going nuts at the first sight of the helicopter. (Remember, I warned you! LOTS of horse photos, coming up!)

Dakota, a veteran of such things, heard it coming first.

The tail went up, and off she went!

Wynter caught onto the game very quickly...

and soon, the two of them were galloping across the pasture. MAN! They are beautiful!

 

They threw their heads, and galloped, tails held high... and then- they noticed that the helicopter had LANDED!

They galloped closer...

They stopped and watched...

Then, they calmly trotted over as close as they could get. It was as if they were wondering why their new playmate had stopped playing!

When the helicopter took off again, they got to resume their game. 

Bruce buzzed the house one last time....

and flew off to the airport, leaving the mares to more routine pastimes.