Bison feeding hay ride

20150103_5747

Saturday we drove over to the Fort Worth Nature Center for a hay ride to feed bison. It was our first time out there and, even though it was’t the prettiest time of year to visit, it was great weather.

20150103_5679_DChayride

When we registered for the hay ride, we had visions of riding out into the winter pasture and dropping off a few bales of hay for the bison to feast on during the next few days. Instead, our ride took us to the maintenance area where they had lured the bison up to the fence so we could throw grass pellets to them.

20150103_5681_bison

They asked us to stay behind the rocks because the bison don’t like when people get too close. See that fence post? That’s what happened last year when our trail guide got a little too close to the bull!

20150103_5684_bison

These bison didn’t look anything like the big furry bison we saw in Yellowstone this summer. They were pretty scrawny and lacked the big heavy fur around their faces. But they were still intimidating. The big ones would run off the small ones when they tried to move in to eat the pellets.

20150103_5685_bison

We saw a red-tailed hawk while we fed the bison.

20150103_5686_hawk

Here they are throwing food.

20150103_5689_DCRfood

20150103_5707_CRDfood

20150103_5718_RC

After we fed the bison, we climbed back on the hay ride and made a loop around the park. We saw a group of deer feeding in the trees.

When the tour was over, we headed down to prairie dog town. These little guys were making the most of this sunny day after all the rain we’ve had. They were running all over the place. It was really fun to watch them stand up, then drop and run into the nearest hole or scamper across the field.

20150103_5735_prairiedogs

20150103_5739_prairiedogs

We hiked around a bit, trying to avoid the mud.

20150103_5730_CDRhike

We weren’t the only ones who had hiked this trail recently.

20150103_5742_deerprint

20150103_5744_CDhike

We will have to visit again in the spring, I bet it is beautiful when all the wild flowers are in bloom.

1 thought on “Bison feeding hay ride

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *