Monday, May 30, 2011

Moose, just passing through

(Apologies for the picture quality.  It happened rather quickly.)

Sunday, May 29, 2011

In Wildness

After an extended winter, the backcountry trails are finally clear and dry. On Saturday, Mari and I disregarded the dartboard prognostications of the local meteorologists, who predicted rain and snow, to kick off the hiking season with a six-mile trek up the East Fork of the Bitterroot River, into the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness Area.

Beaver pond.

Reflections.

Barrow's Goldeneye. 

 Elk crossing the forested ridge.  We might have missed them if one of them hadn't bugled.

New antlers.

Upper East Fork.

Not all who wander are lost.

Mari makes a log crossing.

Beaver lodge.

Beaver.


What the beaver was gnawing on.

Back downstream.


Thursday, May 26, 2011

Spring Pics


The hummingbirds are back.

Spring rain.

Ahhhh.

Wet doe.

Low clouds.

The river is up, but not drastically.  According to the latest hydrologic warnings, the serious flooding will be far downstream from my cabin.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Travels with Charley, Montana style

I snapped these pics while waiting at a stop sign in Bozeman.




Sunday, May 22, 2011

Silly Wabbit (sort of)

This snowshoe hare doesn't know it's supposed to be nocturnal.  I've only seen a few of these over the years, always at night along the roadway.  This one was out at noon.


These hares turn white in the winter and brown in the spring, though their feet stay white year-round. 

The large, hairy feet allow them to remain active in winter, travelling on top of the snow and using the higher snow level to feed on the buds and bark of trees and shrubs.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Spring in Yellowstone

On Monday, Mari and I made a quick trip to Yellowstone.  We left her house at 4:00 am and drove the 90 miles to the north entrance of the park, arriving with the first morning light.  We didn't see any bears, wolves or moose, but we saw most of the usual suspects (deer, elk, pronghorn, bison and coyote) and a lot of birds.

Bison at dawn.

Sandhill Crane.

Still a lot of snow in the upper Lamar Valley.

Heavy runoff near Tower.

Looking across the valley of the Yellowstone River toward the Lamar Valley.

Osprey.

Ruddy Duck.  You gotta love that blue bill.


Barrow's Goldeneye.

 Bison.

Pronghorn.

Undine Falls.

Jaywalking elk.

 Deep snow at Canyon.

Deeper snow in Hayden Valley.  This drift was about 12 feet high.

 Yellowstone River in Hayden Valley.

Hayden Valley runoff.

Share the road.

Lower Falls from Artist Point.

Bald eagle over the Madison River.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011