Late Spring into The Beginning of Summer

It has been a long since posting here. 

I post on Instagram regularly, in case you are interested. 

The male cones of the Lodgepole pines were heavy laden with pollen.

We have had many big storms which brought down seemingly endless trees. 

One of my 6 trees that came down was a pine and a perfect opportunity to harvest pollen and explore super-food medicine making with it. 

I gently shook the branch so you could see how much comes off a gentle shake.

It was a time intensive experience. So lovely to be in the woods, collecting the male cones, serenaded by the birds and amazing scent of pine trees. 

wild orchids are blooming, some have come and gone,

the lovely ladyslipper:

summer light igniting a new born leaf:

a new find along the ponds shore,

I have learned they are snail eggs:

A deer ate that one along with the plant

but there are more

I hope to see the snails arrive

tiny treasures abound

This might be a newborn snail from one of the egg sacks?

It was on the end of a blade of grass

~

I wish you all a lovely summer. 

I hope to post more often, time will tell. 

~

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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!

~

*

 

Honoring Glacier Lilies

we hiked up a boulder strewn canyon

boulders larger by far than us

boulders covered in lichen and moss

when we got to the cliffs above

we were greeted in spring flowers!

lovely glacier lilies

our natural world is sublime

~

*

Spring flowers and a Chickadee

lovely spring beauties

one of our first flowers

usually in white(above)

sometimes pink:

do you know what these are?

(above)

I was thinking phlox, but i am not sure. 

the lovely pasque flowers are here!

I love this little ones hairdo

funny how feathers get ruffled

~

Lovely spring day to you!

~

*

Grizzly

yesterday

a bear, grizzly bear walked through....

I was fairly far from it

it stood up to have a good look at me

or smell of me?

the bear was hunting a ground squirrel

it circled this leaning tree

dug at the earth

stood up and pounced:

it caught the ground squirrel (gopher) 

and 

sauntered off into the woods to eat in private

~

one never knows what one will see in the woods

~

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