This

may be our culprit.

Don't tell anyone, because it is still just one of a half dozen possibilities being investigated. But fingers are pointing its way.

And how does this get into elk to make them go down and die?

It grows inside things like this.

Look at the symptoms reported decades ago by John Kingsbury for livestock poisoned by eating these lichens:

"Symptoms in mild cases consist of ataxia, particularly in the hind legs. In severe cases posterior paralysis is followed by total paralysis of the extremities and the animal is unable to rise. Except in the most severe cases where depression is noted, the animal remains alert and the appetite is normal."

Sounds horribly familiar.

And we know our elk were eating these things. Take a look inside the rumen contents of elk number one.

So, how does one begin to test this hypothesis?

First off, you try feeding some of these lichens to mice, to see how they react. Took a warden ten minutes to gather just a wee handful of the stuff for the mouse experiment.

Three of the mice died.

So. It warrants more investigation. Time to see if it will do the same thing to elk. Got the elk, at a research facility. Just need the lichen.

About 50 pounds worth.

Sorta like gathering 50 pounds of duck down. From desert scrub and cactus country.

So, the question is, how much lichen can a lichen-picker pick if a lichen-picker would pick lichen?

Or, more specifically, how much lichen can three lichen-pickers pick in five hours? Using ATVs to negotiate in and around the mud holes, and decaying remains of elk?

Answer?

Fifteen bags full.

Hard to believe we were driving through three inches of snow on that exact same spot on Friday afternoon.

But the real question was, did we get 50 pounds? I mean, that stuff is light. Our best guess was that each bag was about two pounds. Maybe three if we were lucky.

So, upon my return home, after shaking off the worst of the mud, I brought the bedroom scale outside. And weighed myself holding onto a half dozen or so of these bags, and then again without the bags. Repeat for the other bags. And subtracted two pounds for the 15 bags themselves (still had some empties I could weigh).

I'm not sure, but watching me weigh these white bags, I think some of the neighbors were wondering if I had taken up a more profitable sideline. Or maybe I had come across where a small aircraft had dropped their illegal load somewhere out in the desert. I guess if there's a cop at the door tomorrow, I'll know.

Think they'd believe me if I told them what was really in those bags?

Nah. I wouldn't either.

But the tally of the weights, minus the two pounds for the bags?

Forty-nine pounds.

The next Parmelia-pickin' excursion is scheduled for Wednesday.