What's a Montana dozen?

Well, let's see.  The number of people in the upper six miles of the Tom Miner Basin (above snow line) is about a dozen.
The number of different grizzly bears sighted in one day on a single ranch (the B Bar) one day this past fall is about a dozen.  The wildlife people refer to this valley as "grizzly dense".
Unfortunately, the number of Yellowstone Park wolves being studied in the longest and most thorough study of wolves in the wild ever conducted that have been shot by hunters this winter, because they have wandered outside the parks boundaries and anti-wolf hunters target them, is about 12% of the Yellowstone population. Efforts to establish a buffer zone just outside the park where hunting is not allowed have been blocked and reversed.  The Montana legislature even suspended its rules and both introduced and voted on a bill IN THE SAME DAY in order try to remove management decisions from the wildlife biologists of the Department of Environment and Conservation, and turn it over to local county politicians.  We do not know the outcome of that maneuver yet.
And then there was last night.  We had had a good day- spent time with Ginny, checked the new calf, headed up to the other ranch to help bottle feed the newly arrived 9 kid goats. By dark, with temperature in the teens and wind blowing the snow, you can bet Betsy and I had pretty much settled in for a long winters nap.  At about 6:30, the phone rang, and it was Malou.  She and Dre had met members of a band last year.  They were touring the country from Tennessee, and had played the night before in Big Timber Montana.  They had come up to the ranch to stay overnight, and were setting up in the barn.  Come on up!!  So we drive through some drifting snow, get up to the Schoolhouse ranch, help carry some equipment through snow to the barn.  Same barn we fed goats by bottle at noon, but now we carry the equipment up to the top floor- kind of finished as guest quarters. While the band is setting up we are outside around a big campfire in the snow chatting with- well a Montana dozen would include the band as well as 3 Andersons, two staff from the B bar ranch, the caretaker and wife of the Grizzly Creek ranch, and Betsy and I.  Then up to the barn loft for 2 1/2 hours of great music, and jamming, and chat.  Just a mostly unheated barn loft, in the wilds of Montana, with a dozen people including the performers- and once again, we ask ourselves, isn't this a little surreal?  How did we get here?

This morning, a very large snowshoe hare hopped by as we ate breakfast- white as the snow and much, much, much larger than your average bunny.
Think we will head to Bozeman today- need fresh bear spray, and have to get a ranch coat for Steve as feeding 9 goats from bottles is messy, messy, messy!