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This month started out unseasonably hot and we worried that the green hills would soon be brown. The weather gods have taken care of that worry. There has been rain most everyday for the last couple of weeks, it seems. Maybe I only remember the wet days and have forgotten that some were sunny? I have gotten used to wearing my rain gear. Yesterday by the time we returned to the car, my shoes sloshed. But still, it was gorgeous – green lush grasses and lots of wildflowers still in bloom. Our dogs enjoyed the temperature and ran and ran and ran.

 

Mary Ann has told me about these delicate flowers that are found along the lower part of the trail

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Geum triflorum also known as prairie smoke or old man’s whiskers

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A large patch of balsamroot

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Old aspen trees

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Frida

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This majestic pine tree is slowly dying

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Aphids on a Lomatium seed head

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Another seed head without aphids on the same plant

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Looking back, to the south. You can see tiny Deadhorse Lake in the distance

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Tiny yellow composites with bitterroot buds surrounding

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Blue penstemon and the yellow composite

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And with a buckwheat

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Same type of buckwheat with tightly closed buds

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Blue gray sky. Green hills. In the foreground, the pale pink spots are all bitterroot about to bloom.

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Frost Lake, known by other names is just one of several lakes that dot these hills

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Grouse droppings

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Thompson’s paintbrush

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Tuesday was our second anniversary! Two years already! Can you believe it? This one was kind of bittersweet because our old dog, Sam died on Monday. It’s hard to celebrate when you are missing one of your best friends. The weather didn’t help. We were scheduled to have a hot air balloon ride however it wasn’t to be. Curt, from Morning Glory Balloons said ‘it’s better to be on the ground wishing to be in the air rather than in the air wishing to be on the ground’.

Mid-morning we set out to walk to our wedding spot. The forecast promised rain; there was no doubt of it. The overcast skies said that too. It’s a short hike and the wildflowers are still beautiful up there. We started out enjoying the colorful displays and the greens that were enhanced by the light and rainfall. The birds sang their songs of spring and showed off their colorful plumages too.

After we crossed the first gate on the wildlife area, that all changed. Cows were already pastured up there. Their looming dark square bodies were everywhere with small calves following them around. The spring scents were replaced with the acrid stenches of fresh manure and urine all along the trail. Green grasses and wildflowers were trampled. Their loud mooing covered the bird song. We kept Luna on a leash in order to prevent any cow/dog incidents that might arise. She probably felt safer close to us. The cows had not reached the knoll where we were married so we enjoyed a few minutes and relished the happiness we have shared for two (well more like eight) years now and tried not to think about the cows and Sam too. Then we retraced our steps and went to town for lunchtime pizza at the bakery.

 

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What causes this red on maple leaves?

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They only reluctantly got off the trail to let us pass.

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The view from the wedding spot. Moccasin Lake with Patterson Mountain in the background.

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Early buckwheat flowers

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Pensive

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Happy

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Lupine

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I could not pick a favorite

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Ken reads an anniversary poem to me

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Two!

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We walked to the same place a year ago. You can images from that day here.

 

One evening last week we enjoyed a quiet stroll along the river. It is running quite high, normal for this time of year, and the side channels are all full too. Cottonwoods and aspens are as green as they can be. Grasses are lush. Spring.

 

It’s nice to have the footbridge to access this piece of state land

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It was built by the previous owner

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That thing in the side channel counts salmon smolts as they pass by

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Pretty clear water for this time of year

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Lush

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Where the side channel meets the river

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Evening sky reflections

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Ken threw rocks in water

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This week’s weather has been less than desirable. I suppose I should not complain about the rain and I don’t mind that too much but it’s also been darned cold and when it’s not raining, the wind is blowing. Last week was warm and pleasant and I managed to get a few images from the garden. With all the rain, the garden is looking much different now!

 

This Pine Siskin was obsessed with our dandelions. We have a good crop this year.

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Johnny-jump-ups

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Columbine

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So far, the deer don’t eat columbine, knock on wood.

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Iceland poppy

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Something else the deer don’t eat

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We are eating radishes and greens from the fenced, vegetable garden now

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Ken’s honeybees are an endless source of questions and wonderment. He enjoys working with them and checking on them from time to time to see how the hives are doing. Are they strong? Are they too strong? Will they swarm? What are they eating? Will we get honey this year? How do we keep other bees from stealing the honey? There are more questions than answers. One friend said while you need to keep an eye on them, there is so much time when you are not watching and who knows what is happening then.

 

Ken ‘smokes’ the bees as he opens the hives

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Smoking calms the bees

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Pulling a frame from a hive as a bee watches

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These are new hives this year

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The bees are making brood and storing food

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Ken points out a possible queen cell to the neighbors and their golden retrievers

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Many frames are not yet filled. It is early in the season

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There’s some honey! We got to taste it.

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