A Spring Tour of the Black Hills

Jan here with good news. Spring has finally arrived in the Black Hills!

How can I tell?

Well, it isn't because of the flowers (none yet.) Or the green grass (still brown.) Or the lack of snow (still plenty in the higher altitudes, and we're expecting more tomorrow!)

No, it's because the folks at Custer State Park announced that they spotted the first bison calf of the year. Hoofs on the ground!

The first baby of the year! Check out the picture on Custer State Park's Facebook page!

So yesterday afternoon, with sunny skies and 70 degree weather, we went hunting for orange babies.

We found the fathers of these elusive babies doing their usual spring thing...eating.

They need to get their weight back on after our long winter.  In the late summer/early fall, they'll look like this:

No bones showing on this guy! I took this picture
last July.

And we found the moms in waiting mode...

Just eating, resting, and hanging out. 

But there's a sign of spring in this picture! Do you see the wisps of green grass? It's growing!

The pronghorn antelope are waiting, too. And eating. And waiting.

In case you're wondering, those lines in her fur (hair?) are ruffles as the breeze hits her. She was standing broadside to the wind.

But with pronghorns, you can never be quite sure if they've had their little ones or not. The mothers hide them in the grass where the babies lay very still, curled up in a ball. They're the same color as the grass, and almost impossible to see. 

And the prairie dogs were out!

No little ones here, either. If they've been born, they're still deep underground where it's safe and warm.

But you know spring is coming when the Begging Burros are back from their winter pasture!

Do you see why they're called the Begging Burros? The folks in this car came prepared with carrots for all.

But when they came to see what we had, they were disappointed.

"What did you bring me?"

"Nothing? Never mind."

The park burros are pretty tame. They are descended from burros brought to the area by miners back in the late 1800's, and have been around people their entire lives. While we never pet the bison, petting the burros is welcome and expected. Especially if you bring a treat...which we didn't.

I'll leave you with one more glimpse of spring in the Black Hills. Even though we didn't find a baby bison, we did stop by the overlook where you can see George's profile view.

Because there is nothing like a view of Mt. Rushmore against that beautiful blue spring sky!

I hope you're enjoying spring in your part of the country!

Jan Drexler lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and growing family. When she isn't writing, she loves hiking in the Hills or satisfying her cross stitch addiction.

You can find Jan on Facebook, Jan Drexler, author, or her website, Jan Drexler.com.