Summer, Beautiful Summer

 

I drove to the mountains hoping to visit butterflies. When I got to the top of the pass there they were, a 1,000 of them fluttering about is not an exaggeration. 

 

They were around puddles sipping water absorbing minerals. I wish I had gotten a photo of the multitudes, yet as I approached they took to the air and fluttered around me. So glimpses is what I have to share.

 

The tiny pond snails are laying their eggs on leaves along the water.

 

lovely Self Heal is blooming, dotting the woods and meadows with their lovely presence. I am also using it in my tea and made a body oil with it. 

 

 

late spring and early summer we have had rains from time to time. Moss plumps up and grows at these times revealing their artful beauty. 

 

Enjoy each day, seasons come and go swiftly and each one holds its own special gifts.  

~

lovely summer to you 

~

*

 

 

Critters

 

lovely to see these Ruffed Grouse in a bush

their chamouflage is wonderful

it was a pair of birds

nice that they have one another for winter

the second bird was well hidden

ice crystal season has begun

this one is not super clear as it was a bit frosty on top 

of the crystals

lovely in its star shape

Looking out the window, a deeply gray day and the world seems frozen.

Yet I step out and two little birds fly to me, land on my hand for nuts.

A doe wanders through the yard and gazes as me as I fill my carrier with wood for the stove.

She wanders off between the ponds, we are all aware of one another.

THEN an explosion of movement and sound appears from the far side of the pond.

A buck at high speed appears to be flying and the doe flees swiftly. 

The chase is on. 

Flying over fences at high speed. Then it all stops, she got away. Five minutes later, nearly the same event happens all over again, this time I had my camera out and captured this photo of the buck on the hunt. I stood still as a tree and he ignored me. He heard her movement and the chase was on. Again she escapes. A few minutes later I hear them charging through the woods. Three times….. he was quite sincere in his chase. I did not see the outcome, did she get away?

I read there are a number of reasons for a buck behaving this way. Not always the rut, sometimes due to the amount of testosterone. This was a first sighting for me.

Our frozen world is not entirely frozen for the season. Step outside and one never knows what they will experience.

~

* 

First Snow

 

Our first snow of the season

landed on trees that still have autumn leaves

a mix of autumn and winter

striking to see golden leaves in a nearly black and white realm

I wonder what deer think of the change of season?

morning two of the snowstorm

covered us even deeper in snow

offering a mystical and magical white realm

~

My goodness, it has been near a year....

 

Kokanee Salmon are swimming upstream

spawning season

 Always a joy to see their bright orange bodies

moving through the water

And the rocks

cloaked in dancing light and shadows

So hard to choose just one photo to share with you. 

(which of these would you choose, 1, 2 or 3?).

~

Wishing you a lovely day and beyond. 

Tammie

~

*

Autumn turns to Winter

A week ago

I walked along a river, the sun was out, it was lovely and warm. There were rocks cuddled in moss. 

The previous snow had melted away,

it felt like autumn again.

 Western larch, though fading, 

still appeared as golden torches lighting up the mountains.

This seed pod was maybe an inch long. 

I have no idea what plant it is. This close up shows me details my eyes could not see. I am mesmerized at the design for protecting and sending off it's seeds. 

Let me know if you know what it is. 

For two days it has been snowing.

It is a winter wonderland out there.
I plowed for the first time of the season. 

The little birds are busy as can be, 

collecting seeds and seem happy as can be.

I never know who I will see when I look out the window!

~

*

 

The season of bears and flowers ~

Wandering the woods, breathing with trees, photographing spring treasures, I heard a unique scrambling sound. 

One is wise to take note of sounds while in the wilds of this NW corner of Montana. 

For we live with the critters of fairy tales. 

Looking in the direction of the sound I saw a black bear scurrying up a tall conifer tree, bark flying as she did. 

Oh! 

Since she was kind of far and up a tree I snapped a few photos. 

But really, she got up that tree so fast, she could have gotten to me before I knew what was happening. 

Later I learned that my camera captured her two little cubs! She had sent her cubs to safety and followed after them. 

A good bear encounter!

Each May, when wandering the woods, my eyes scan the forest floor for fairy slippers, the calypso orchid. 

 Absolutely thrilling! 

and

shooting stars

a little past its prime

yet still a thrill to find

the highly sought after morel mushroom

moss is growing

and so beautiful up close!

~

*

 

Stepping into a Fairy tale

I donned xc skis

and headed through the woods, meadows and hills 

the wilds around home

after an hour I arrived at a tangled forest along a creek

you know the kind of woods that you have to bend and twist to get through 

the limbs of trees and bushes

grab your hat and cloak each step of the way

along the waters edge

snow turned into geometry crystals

sacred geometry

it was layers and layers deep, perhaps a dozen layers 

of delicate yet strong sheets of these icy layers

a pile of flicker (woodpecker group) feathers were scattered on a log and snow

someone dinned in these shadowy woods

a lone wolf had passed the same path that morning

ice formations showed the beauty of branches in a unique way

upon return

I had the honor of holding a little junco until it felt well enough to fly away

after colliding with a window

~

it truly felt like a fairy-tale day

~

*

Glimpses of a Creek Walk

beneath the milky ice

runs cold water

rocks nestled down for winter

(which is nearly spring)

flowing

frozen

nature's art

nature's life

recent snow

offers glimpses never seen before

artful offerings

pink bark!

in the shadowy darkness...... light

platinum beauty

~

wishing you peace

calm

beauty 

from the inside out

~

*

Winter Crystals

morning treasures

 

formed in the cold of night

 

they call my creek home

 

in their short lived life

 

often the crystals evaporate, take flight, disappear throughout the day

even though the temperature is below freezing

so interesting

moon shadows on the snow

our recent full moon

~

*