While capturing the scenes of the yellow hills I discovered that the Larkspur were also in bloom. It was a nice reward from Mother Nature for climbing the hill to photograph the sunflowers.
April 21, 2016
April 20, 2016
Fairy slipper
The Fairy slipper is a very fragile little orchid that ranges through the western and northern tier of states in the U.S. Its bulbs are attached by very delicate roots that are easily broken by the lightest tug on the stem and so if one is picked or the stem is disturbed the whole plant usually dies. It also grows in association with certain specific fungi which makes it all but impossible to transplant. “Calypso” is an orchid genus containing only a single species, Calypso Bulbosa.
Cascade on Spring Creek
This small fall in a series that stretches for miles has a drop of about four feet. The creek is running full now from snow melt on Big Hole Peak, 6 miles upstream and four thousand feet above.
April 19, 2016
April 18, 2016
April 17, 2016
Three seasons
The weather here has been summer-like for the past two weeks and now if you look in the right direction you can see three of Nature’s seasons in one frame from the valley at 2400 feet to the peaks at 7000 feet. The snow-capped peaks in the distance are part of the Coeur d’Alene Mountains sitting inside the Cherry Peak roadless area just to the south of the Clark Fork River. The tall white bushes are Saskatoons in bloom, the small white flowers are Woodland Stars and the newly blooming Chickweed and, of course, the orange Arrow-leaved Balsamroot.
