Slick roads and low visibility have made driving to work a thoughtful endeavor. Rounding the corner on Highway 22, almost to town, just in front of the Hansen Ranch, my eyes were drawn to ravens feasting on an unfortunate deer who was likely trying to make it from East or West Gros Ventre Butte over to Antelope Butte behind the Poodle Ranch. I suppose it was a bad day for deer but a good day for ravens as nature continues its fragile balance. The combination of icy roads and wildlife urgently moving from one habitable area to another can make for a deadly combination.
A more subtle reminder, but an equally potent one are the wonderful animal silhouettes that the Center of Wonder has placed on fence lines around the valley. Not only do these clever cut-outs remind us to drive with caution to preserve the lives of our animal friends, they mark areas of critical open space, which are protected by conservation easements held by either the JHLT or The Nature Conservancy. 
I am much more aware of wildlife in the winter months. Not only are they more visible, with their dark coats contrasted against the white snow, but the fragility of their lives is more evident to me. Many nights when I am snug in my bed, listening to the wind pound my house with snow, I think about those precious beasts eking out a living, most of the females in high demand for nutrition due to their winter gestation,. Nearly every winter day at dawn, a moose passes by my kitchen window, I know that even the stress of passing between houses of seemingly nice people generates is an unnecessary expenditure of hard earned calories. But as the animal cut-outs also remind me, the form of beasts is so different from the form of humans, and much more perfectly designed to bear the brunt of a Wyoming winter.   ~Adonia Ripple