A mid-summer snow storm on Monday created some interesting flower photos, like these bluebells,
and the snow on the beargrass, as if these blossoms needed additional white!
By Tuesday, the snow had melted and summer was its normal self again for these Indian paintbrushes.
I don’t know how the rather delicate Tolmei was able to survive its icy covering, but it seems to have done so quite well. It’s a different strain than all the others that I’ve seen so far this summer.
I’m curious: have you ever eaten the Indian Paintbrush? I still remember learning that it was edible, but I never tried it. Kind of hard to bring up in casual conversation, I guess – “No, really, dear! Let’s have a salad!”
Oh, and I’m having trouble accepting that the words “mid-summer” and “snowstorm” can be used in the same sentence.
Comment by wolf — June 28, 2007 @ 9:07 am
No, never tried eating it. I don’t eat much of the wild stuff except berries, which I love, and the giant puffball mushrooms.
That storm was a real and unexpected pleasure. That morning I saw that the mountain was all in the clouds and I thought I might get above them for a few pictures. When I hit the higher elevations I saw the snow. At about 6,500 feet it was snowing so hard there was no visibility and I turned around. That’s not an area where it’s comfortable to be blind.
Comment by montucky — June 28, 2007 @ 9:32 am
Hi! Those shots of your indian paintbrush is so cool looking – I also loved that contrast of flowers in snow.. who’da thunk it? There is elevation for you. I love the look of this Tolmei – it’s a good day when your subject is as pretty as that is. I love how crisp your photos look – beautiful job!
Comment by aullori — June 29, 2007 @ 8:57 am
It’s often a different world at high elevations. I later talked to some of the folks who live in the valley and they had no idea there had been snow up there.
These flowers just seem to take their own photos, and that’s a good thing. It’s hard to decide just what to look at during any given time. There’s an advantage to a steep trail: it forces you to go slow enough to see most of what’s there.
Comment by montucky — June 29, 2007 @ 9:24 am