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Out with the Dogs

The dogs and I went up-valley on Friday for a change of scenery. The pass is still closed so traffic is light up there. That will change soon. The dogs were happy to see some dwindling snow patches and I enjoyed looking at the rivers and streams. Lost River was running clear while all the other streams were muddy with runoff. Glacier lilies were blooming where the snow had just melted. Butterflies probed into old dog poop looking for nutrients. Chipping Sparrows, Willow Flycatchers and many other birds sang their songs of spring time.

I always stop for this view.
Glacier lily
Glacier lily
Spring beauty
Buttercup
I should know the name of this mountain
This bridge is nerve-wracking for me. In the summer I wade across the river but not now.
Sky was not as confident as Luna
Luna says it’s a piece of cake.
Quite the rushing river
A small waterfall
Fresh cottonwood leaves
Cottonwood leaves in black and white
Cedar and sunlight
Forest and the trees
This creek must have escaped its culvert. Now it is going across the road.
That’s where the road should be.
Luna gets a stick out of the muddy torrent
Even muddy, it’s still pretty
Butterflies. How many do you see?
Disgusting, I know.
Sky is curious.

A Dock for Diving and Fishing Too

I had told MA that we needed a dock to see if Sky would ‘dock dive’. It seems a bit lofty to think of an eight month old puppy being ready to take on the big world of dock diving but her enthusiasm for swimming seems to be boundless. MA said she knew where there was a dock but the lake might still be frozen. She likes to go there before spring really arrives and other folks are fishing up there. So we loaded the dogs and headed into the mountains. Sure enough, we hit snow on a shady part and I fretted about going through it without snow tires but when I saw how much farther we had to go, I bucked up and drove my subaru through it without any problem. There was some snow that was pretty soft and squishy but we got through that too. Finally made it to the top and then had a reasonably short walk to the lake. Most of it was still ice-covered but not around the dock. And sure enough, Sky was happy to jump off the dock and swim for a stick or the tennis ball that she found in the campground. Luna was happy to watch. Frida jumped a couple of times too. After a while the dogs and I went for a walk and left MA to her fishing and when she was done with her worms, she had five nice trout for supper! On the way home, we saw a Dusky Grouse and he must have seen something he liked about us or my car because he soon puffed up in all of his courtship finery.

Sky retrieved sticks that the other dogs left behind
Reflections in water pooled on the ice
Chipmunks watched us
A Mallard drake walks on ice
A pair of Ring-necked Ducks
The male Ring-necked Duck
Ponderosa pines and a bluebird sky. What could be prettier?
If she can’t pick it up, she can climb on to it
Tiny puffballs
Clear cold water
Luna thinks this is not a good idea
Frida is a good dog to take fishing
Beautiful spot
That’s a keeper!
Just before Sky jumped in to see if she could retrieve it
Dusky Grouse

A Rare, Rainy Day

It seems like the snow just recently melted and yet, already everything is dusty so this morning it was lovely to wake to the smell of petrichor – the pleasant smell that comes with rain after a dry spell. Thanks to Mary Ann for sharing this word with me. It’s just a very light rain so things will not be moist for long. I’ll be watering tiny garden plants again tomorrow or the next day.

The dogs and I had a nice slow walk around our hillside. I am still nursing a sore back so I don’t do anything quickly. It was a good opportunity to study the small plants growing in our normally arid landscape.

This lupine grows near our house is often the first to bloom. It is next to a rock so probably benefits from the reflected heat and light.
Serviceberry in full bloom!
Old serviceberry along our road
Choke cherry, not yet blooming
Dog with a stick in a hurry.
Balsamroot
Balsamroot in front of our neighbors’ small barn
Tent caterpillars on a bitterbrush. They seem smaller than last year.
Currant
I don’t know this one
Bitterroot leaves
Tiny lomatium.
Bluebells
Mullein. Some say it’s native; others say it’s introduced. It has lots of medicinal qualities. It is beautiful. Birds like it. However, it is very invasive.

Early Spring at Big Valley

The girls and I went to Big Valley this afternoon for a walk in the woods. The snow has melted as fast as it arrived. Remember – we were walking all through January and part of February before the big snows finally fell on us and now the trail is dry and the cottonwoods are beginning to leaf out. No flowers up there yet but there will be soon. Big Valley was a good choice because I strained my lower back last Friday and only feel comfortable walking on level ground. Any hills or rough terrain are really challenging. The dogs and I need some exercise and Big Valley is good for all of us with easy access to the river for them to swim and birds for me to see and hear.

A walk in the woods
Another day another stick
Sky took Luna’s stick and then a game of chase was started
Here they come
Look out, she’s dangerous with a stick.
And back again
Through the trees
Tug of war.
The river is rising
Water birch log underwater with reflections. You probably had to be there.
A giant puffball from last year?
She could be on a magazine cover someday.
Texture of the puffball
What is on these aspens?
Fungi on a dead cottonwood
Another fungi
No trail sweep here, or so they say. Don’t worry, I picked up all of her sticks and tossed them off the trail.
That is not one of Sky’s sticks.
Through the pine forest
At home the serviceberry is starting to bloom.
The first balsamroot blooming at home

Clouds Backlit by the Moon

Sadly on the night of the 14th, clouds obscured the lunar eclipse at my house. I had hoped to watch and make some nice images. Oh well.

Last night I was out with the dogs and noticed that clouds were once again obscuring the moon but the moonlight was shining behind them, highlighting the edges and the sky that was not cloud-covered. Stars and planets adorned the dark sky too. The tripod was still handy from the night before so I went out in the cold to see what I could get.

These images represent the changing light as the clouds, the moon and the earth moved.

I am lucky to live in a place where light pollution has not yet overcome our night skies and seeing the stars and planets is a normal occurrence.

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