Haven’t had a chance for a hike in about a week so the next two posts will consist of more photos from the Reservation Divide.
July 19, 2012
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Montana Outdoors 
The regrowth is beautiful.
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Comment by Candace — July 19, 2012 @ 8:41 pm
In many areas the bear grass has already become very thick and it is harboring a huge number of Columbian Ground Squirrels. There are lots of flowers and other grasses and so the ungulates are also returning as are grouse and of course the predators. The trees though will take centuries to fully recover, but there are a surprising number that the fire did not destroy.
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Comment by montucky — July 19, 2012 @ 9:02 pm
What an expanse. Have never been there, grateful that you are showing this. Are those burned trees or beetle-kiled?
Thanks!
cc
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Comment by C.C. — July 19, 2012 @ 8:49 pm
That was a fire of about 50,000 acres in 2002. It’s interesting and gratifying to see how the country is starting to recover.
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Comment by montucky — July 19, 2012 @ 9:03 pm
I wish more people could see these photos and that the land does recover and that fire has always been part of the process. I finally heard a forester say that the reason Colorado Springs was so bad was due to the practice of fire suppression. We grew up respecting that fire was part of the growth cycle.
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Comment by Tammy — July 23, 2012 @ 12:26 pm
I wish that too, Tammy. Over the past dozen or so years I have spent a lot of time in the roadless and old-growth forest areas. I cannot remember a place or a time when I didn’t see the signs of fire, new or old. It is a powerful tool in nature’s garden!
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Comment by montucky — July 23, 2012 @ 10:34 pm
Some of those grasses look like they could be sharp-edged, like sawgrass. Looking at your photos, I remembered a verse from childhood: “Sedges have edges and rushes are round, grasses are hollow and rush all around”. 😉
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Comment by shoreacres — July 19, 2012 @ 9:05 pm
That’s bear grass. It has gotten very thick throughout parts of the burn area. This has not been a good year for its flowers, but the plants have had a wonderful year. In a year or two there will be a flower spectacular there.
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Comment by montucky — July 19, 2012 @ 10:34 pm
I see restoration! So amazing to see how the land is recovering after a fire. When we visited Mount St. Helens during our time living in the Pacific Northwest, it amazed me to see the land being restored naturally where devastation once had been.
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Comment by Mama's Empty Nest — July 19, 2012 @ 9:23 pm
The recovery starts almost immediately, when many plants and some animals see an opportunity. St Helen’s was much harsher than a forest that has seen a fire, and yet look at what it has done!
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Comment by montucky — July 19, 2012 @ 10:46 pm
You made good on your lupine promise. 🙂 Thanks. Maybe I should look for them at higher altitudes too.
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Comment by jomegat — July 19, 2012 @ 9:31 pm
I think I have another photo of lupines coming up too. I suspect that these are a different species than the ones that live at the valley level. The white ones are not exactly rare, but I seldom see them.
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Comment by montucky — July 19, 2012 @ 11:10 pm
I have missed so many of your posts. I went back through them all and you are inspiring me to get out and hike! Summer is a magical time here and your photos show it.
As for huckleberries, yum, they were wonderful to find… more to come. I have not seen ripe service berries yet.
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Comment by Tammie — July 20, 2012 @ 12:15 am
Yes, summer is a magical time here! I haven’t been getting out as often as I want either, but I should finish my project soon and be able to hit the trails again.
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Comment by montucky — July 20, 2012 @ 9:44 pm
I see that the flowers are lupines, or lupins as we call them – although they look slightly different from ours. So beautiful! It’s good to see the forest re-generating. Your photos always make me stop in my tracks and forget what I was going to do! The last photo especially is just superb.
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Comment by Jo Woolf — July 20, 2012 @ 12:42 am
There are, I believe, 10 species of lupines in this northwest region and I’m not quite sure which species these are. They really decorate the high country meadows and ridge tops this time of year.
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Comment by montucky — July 20, 2012 @ 9:47 pm
I’m glad to see that there are beautiful flowers in such a beautiful spot. The icing on the cake!
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Comment by New Hampshire Gardener — July 20, 2012 @ 5:58 am
There will be flowers in the high places through September at least and if I can make a few of my plans work, I will be able to bring back photos of them later. The assortment of flowers on most of the peaks is incredible.
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Comment by montucky — July 20, 2012 @ 9:49 pm
50,000 acres is simply mind-boggling…. Thank goodness the land revitalizes on its own, with no thanks to human intervention. The early renewal is just magical!
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Comment by FeyGirl — July 20, 2012 @ 6:23 am
The forests do just fine if left alone. Fire is a natural part of the forests but human “management” of them through most of the last century has set the stage for more and larger fires over the next few decades. I consider wildfire to be the “predator” of the forests that keeps the population of all of the plants in proper balance.
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Comment by montucky — July 20, 2012 @ 9:53 pm
There is a stark beauty to the dead trees in the first shot. For some reason the silvery shapes put me in mind of frost. Amazing how nature heals the land over time.
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Comment by sandy — July 20, 2012 @ 7:40 am
Those trees are dead, but they still have many purposes. They have become or will become the homes of birds and small animals and insects for decades before they fall back to the earth and decay to be a part of it again. All of this is part of the complete regeneration process.
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Comment by montucky — July 20, 2012 @ 10:03 pm
Montana is stunningly beautiful … thanks for your pictorial reminder. Fortunately we’re only a couple of hours away, and get to visit often!
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Comment by bleysingwest — July 20, 2012 @ 9:49 am
It is indeed! I’m glad that you enjoy it and can visit. For years I lived away and my visits were short but highly treasured.
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Comment by montucky — July 20, 2012 @ 10:05 pm
The flowers are gorgeous! I’d love to have a bouquet of them on my kitchen table!
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Comment by allbymyself09 — July 20, 2012 @ 11:22 am
The flowers of late summer are larger than the ones of spring and they are plentiful. A bouquet would be in order!
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Comment by montucky — July 20, 2012 @ 10:06 pm
No you don’t – lupines have a distinctly unpleasant odor when plucked and plunked in a vase!
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Comment by Kim — July 25, 2012 @ 1:40 pm
Some see only the remains of the trees and refuse to look any further. Others see the smallest wildflowers, the returning wildlife, and rejoice. Lovely, Terry.
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Comment by Bo Mackison — July 20, 2012 @ 11:41 am
Those are all part of the whole, aren’t they Bo. To really “see” the forests, one has to remember that they include the dimension of time and that perspective is in the millennia.
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Comment by montucky — July 20, 2012 @ 10:10 pm
Beautiful work Terry..especially love the flowers, kinda fond to them 😉
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Comment by Bernie Kasper — July 20, 2012 @ 12:51 pm
The flowers are of course a visual plus, but they are also vital to the health and wellbeing of the whole.
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Comment by montucky — July 20, 2012 @ 10:13 pm
I recognize the lupines, but what is the other pretty flower? Were all of these pics taken on the same hike?
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Comment by kcjewel — July 20, 2012 @ 3:09 pm
Those are a species of buckwheat but I’m not sure exactly which one although I would guess Eriogonum compositum. It isn’t yet in full bloom. Yes these were taken on a short hike of about 4 miles. While on a full day’s hike into the roadless areas I commonly come back with 150 or so photos and have a heck of a time deciding which to post. THere is just so much beauty out there!
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Comment by montucky — July 20, 2012 @ 10:16 pm
Excellent series!!!!
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Comment by dhphotosite — July 22, 2012 @ 12:45 pm
Thanks!
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Comment by montucky — July 23, 2012 @ 10:15 pm
Nice to see Nature renewing itself through your vision. With such growth comes diversity as you have noted by the returning wildlife and vegetation.
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Comment by Scott Thomas Photography — July 23, 2012 @ 10:59 am
It’s really nice to see the renewal first=hand and to be able to check in on it periodically. It’s like taking a course in ecology, although even better!
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Comment by montucky — July 23, 2012 @ 10:28 pm
That last one is like an ocean of clouds…. All beautiful, Terry…wonderful….
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Comment by seekraz — July 23, 2012 @ 9:31 pm
These beautiful summer clouds were my favorite things when I was a kid and that has just never changed!
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Comment by montucky — July 23, 2012 @ 10:29 pm
The deadwood shot is really remarkable. Wonderful composition!
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Comment by Wild_Bill — July 24, 2012 @ 7:13 am
That tells a whole story, doesn’t it, a message from the real world.
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Comment by montucky — July 24, 2012 @ 8:42 pm
How far from Missoula were these images shot, Terry? Looks like familiar terrain.
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Comment by Kim — July 25, 2012 @ 1:41 pm
Not too far. The photos were taken looking down over the Nine Mile Valley from the north, actually the headwaters of Nine Mile Creek.
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Comment by montucky — July 25, 2012 @ 8:01 pm