February 4, 2015
Looking forward to Spring
This is the time of year when many of us start looking forward to Spring and all of the new arrivals of the season that will be appearing, my favorites of which are wildflowers. In my photo library there are somewhere around ten thousand photos of western Montana wildflowers and I’ve decided to have a few printed and I have made some simple frames in which to mount them. At the moment I really don’t know what I will do with them, but first I have to see what they might look like that way. As I go along I will post a few of those photos here as a sample of what the next seasons are sure to bring.
Spreading Dogbane ~ Apocynum androsaemifolium
This is a rather mundane appearing little plant that grows to be about 20 inches tall and its flowers are small and, as you walk past them, hardly noticeable. However, when scrutinized closely, they are quite pretty. This photo was taken in June of 2009 along an old road upon which I walk quite frequently, and the gentle raindrops that were falling that day added a little sparkle to the appearance of the blossoms.
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Montana Outdoors 
Great to sometimes look a little closer, nice shot.
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Comment by Boeta — February 4, 2015 @ 9:26 pm
Yes, especially with the small wildflowers.
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Comment by montucky — February 4, 2015 @ 9:48 pm
Those drops of water look like jewels. In many ways, they are.
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Comment by Malcolm R. Campbell — February 4, 2015 @ 9:47 pm
Ultimately, even more precious than jewels!
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Comment by montucky — February 4, 2015 @ 9:49 pm
How beautiful! It looks far from mundane when you show a close up. 🙂
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Comment by Jane — February 4, 2015 @ 11:49 pm
Most of our wildflowers in this region are very small but very pretty when looked at through a macro lens.
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Comment by montucky — February 5, 2015 @ 12:08 am
Thank you for identifying this for me!! We have a number of these plants growing at the base of a south-facing hill on our property here in the Flathead Valley. I took photos last summer but couldn’t identify them. I enjoy your blog very much!
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Comment by Diana — February 5, 2015 @ 1:02 am
Thank you, Diana! I’m glad to be of help in identifying them.
By the way, if you click on any of my photos, it will take you to that photo on my Flickr site. Then click on “back to photostream”. When that opens up, click on “albums” and there you will find an album of Wildflowers of western Montana that contains over 1500 photos and I think I have nearly all of them identified. It may help with future ID’s.
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Comment by montucky — February 5, 2015 @ 1:26 am
Can’t wait to see your spring photos.
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Comment by wordsfromanneli — February 5, 2015 @ 1:27 am
I’m anxious to get started. Last summer I didn’t get out as much as I would have liked, but this year I’m ready and raring to go! I’ve found that although it is only about 80 miles awsy, the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness contains flowers that I’ve not seen and photographed and I’m anxious to go find them!
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Comment by montucky — February 5, 2015 @ 1:39 am
You seem to find some very early ones that most of us would never see except for your photos.
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Comment by wordsfromanneli — February 5, 2015 @ 10:14 am
It looks like this is another of those flowers that change color as they age. Some I’ve seen go from white to pink, others go from pink to white! This one looks like it might become a little more blue as time passes, rather than holding on to that deep rose of the bud. Is that so?
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Comment by shoreacres — February 5, 2015 @ 8:13 am
I haven’t noticed these changing colors with age the way that, for example, a trillium does. I did read though that the pink lines serve as guides to lead insects into them.
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Comment by montucky — February 5, 2015 @ 12:58 pm
Absolutely beautiful! 🙂
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Comment by Jo Woolf — February 5, 2015 @ 1:24 pm
Thanks Jo. The little wildflowers are a passion with me.
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Comment by montucky — February 5, 2015 @ 2:34 pm
Very beautiful…It is getting hard to hold out for the lush colors of spring.
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Comment by Charlie@Seattle Trekker — February 5, 2015 @ 2:21 pm
It is. As I recall, you will have Spring starting well before we do. I vividly remember the beauty of all of the flowers you have there in summer, and of course the lawns (which I finally got used to mowing in the rain).
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Comment by montucky — February 5, 2015 @ 2:32 pm
I love dogbane and I look for it every year. This is a beautiful shot of yours.
If you let ‘the world” know that you have framed photos you might be surprised by how many requests you get to show them, and you might even sell a few. It’s fun.
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Comment by New Hampshire Garden Solutions — February 5, 2015 @ 2:59 pm
I’ll probably end up giving them away. In a rural area like this I doubt if I could generate any sales, and shipping them would be prohibitive.
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Comment by montucky — February 5, 2015 @ 8:14 pm
Am looking forward to seeing all your Spring flowers – especially since my memory is poor and I don’t remember your flower photos from last year 😀
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Comment by Vicki — February 5, 2015 @ 7:03 pm
I’m looking forward to the spring flowers too, but they won’t start to bloom until into April, although there will a couple of early species in bloom before that. It’s funny, I am anxious to photograph the spring wildflowers, but I have no idea what to do with the pictures. Over the years I’ve posted far too many flower photos already.
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Comment by montucky — February 5, 2015 @ 8:19 pm
They are so pretty especially with the raindrops on them. It’s cool that you are making your own frames to go with your photos, a total handmade experience. I’m sure you will have friends and family who would love a montucky original. It’s nice to give things like that when you go to parties or other people’s homes for dinner or something, a hostess (host) gift.
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Comment by Candace — February 6, 2015 @ 8:05 pm
You know, giving them to friends and family may be the very best use for them after all!
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Comment by montucky — February 6, 2015 @ 8:25 pm
I am speechless. Thank You.
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Comment by Sartenada — February 13, 2015 @ 12:56 am
This time of year I think often of the flowers that Spring will bring again.
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Comment by montucky — February 13, 2015 @ 9:44 am