Friday Leftovers

 Everybody should have a "Leftovers" day: a day when you don't cook and don't think - you just grab whatever is in the refrig and make a meal. This is kind of like that. Below are a group of random photos taken over the last week or so that really don't have a place of their own in the blog-o-sphere.

 First up is the Lark Bunting. We have a group of half a dozen or so that are hanging around our lower field for the summer.

 Next is Ms Ladybug making her way up a yucca bud.

 The prickly pear are in full bloom.

And the female Yellowheaded Blackbird may not be quite as striking as her mate, but she is pretty colorful all the same!

All in the Family

 Here we do not witness the large pronghorn migrations that they get in the southwest part of the state involving hundreds of antelope. But we do have a pretty healthy resident population that hangs around for much of the year. In the winter they will gather in bigger groups but this time of year we see individuals or small family clusters. It has been a real treat to see quite a few young this year. Still - seeing this group of two mamas with five youngsters yesterday was wonderful!

If you click on this photo you will see the youngsters exhibiting the "warning" behavior of fluffing up their white butts even though the mamas seem pretty calm. I am not sure if it is more a sign to warn others - like a white tail deer does when it throws up its tail - or an attempt to make them seem bigger than they are - like a cat.

 And, of course, I had to include a shot with Heart Mountain. Two of the babies had wandered off a little ways in this photo.

Ken and Allmon (our grandson) took a three day trip to Deep Lake and back, arriving home yesterday. I have to share this shot Ken took at Deep Lake of a snowshoe hare in the middle of his transition from white winter wear to brown summer garb. I wish I had seen it!!

Unexpected Consequences

 No one predicted that bringing the wolves back to Yellowstone would be good for beavers. But that is exactly what happened. As the wolves thinned out some elk herds and dispersed others, willow began to re-grow in stream beds and the beaver had food to eat once again. Now, for the first time in decades, beaver are making a come-back in the Park.

On a much more local level, we did not foresee the changes that would come about when ravens decided to move into our yard this spring.

The biggest loss has been the daily sightings of the golden eagle. It seems the constant harassment was just too much and so the big bird has decided to hunt elsewhere for the time being. We will see, now that the baby raven has fledged, whether the eagle makes his way back to his old stomping grounds or not.

The other unexpected consequence of having the ravens was that they chased most of the magpies away from the area of our house. This is not a bad thing. Magpies are brutal in their destruction of nests of smaller birds and we have seen one example after the next over the last few years of birds building nests and laying eggs only to have the eggs or even the baby birds killed and consumed by marauding magpies.

 One of the small birds I am thrilled to see return this year is the rock wren. They have a nest in our garden - 10 feet from the back door - and it is such a treat to watch them fly in and out all day long.


They are pretty, they have a beautiful voice and they eat bugs. What's not to love!

The rabbit brush is starting to turn yellow.

And then there were three...

 Mama bluebird (top) brought her youngster out to show off this morning.

Papa sat on the light post nearby and watched over them both.

I love this shot of papa launching himself off the tree branch!

Canyon View

 It was such a beautiful morning that I decided to take a drive down to the canyon with a short hike up Little Rocky Creek as a side trip. The view above is Heart Mountain with a little piece of Bald Ridge in the foreground.  

 This shot is looking back at Flat Iron from the south.

 I love the look of the red rock from the Chugwater formation that pops up all along the Beartooth Front.

As I drove back in my driveway I caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of my eye. I stopped for a closer look and caught this baby cottontail - about the size of my fist - frozen in place in hopes that he was invisible!

Happy 4th!

Running Experiment

I don't know how many times I have said that I wish I could carry my camera on my morning run. But when you shoot a 10lb Canon 7D like I do, even walking with it is a commitment! I think Ken got tired of my whining because he came home from Billings yesterday and handed me a Nikon Coolpix S8100. From March until November each year I run with a butt pack so I can carry my bear spray. The Nikon fits easily into the pack and I don't even know I am carrying it.

It is definitely a compromise. The colors are not as true as with the Canon nor is the resolution anywhere close (as one would expect with this type of camera.) But that is a small price to pay. Bigger issues are getting used to the lack of a view finder and the extra time I am now going to have to allot for my daily run!

 My first subject this morning was a buck antelope. He let me know he was there with his usual huff. They sound so insulted when they snuffle at you! But instead of running away from me, he ran across in front and ducked under the BLM fence, putting him much closer than he had been to start with.

 I was able to take a shot of Heart Mountain with a yucca foreground.

 At the turn-around in the northeast corner I heard the familiar tch,tch, tch that makes my heart pound. You may have to click on the images to get a good look at the first rattler of the year. Usually by this time we would have seen a dozen or more but they have been scarce this spring. The poor photo quality has nothing to do with the camera. Even though I like snakes and even though my brain tells me there is no danger from this one, my body reacts with a visceral response every time I hear a rattler. It is tough to take a steady shot when your already exercise-elevated heart rate suddenly gets an extra shot of adrenaline!

Near Misses and Follow-Up

Near Misses

The problem with photographing wildlife is that they don't always want to sit still and pose. I was outside last night when I was surprised to see two cedar waxwings land on a tree nearby. Surprised because we rarely see them this time of year - they are usually fall visitors. By the time I ran inside to get the camera they had moved to a ground wire on the roof of the garage. My only photo is of a pair of beautiful birds in a not-so-beautiful setting!

 Near miss #2 happened this morning. I looked out the window to see two mule deer bucks posing perfectly in the light of the rising sun. By the time I got in position there was one buck left and he was standing in the shade.  At least he waited in the middle of some blooming yucca!

Follow Up


A couple days ago I asked if anyone could help identify this bird I observed near Bondurant. It was driving me crazy so last night I pulled out the Roger Tory Peterson book of western birds for another go. By chance (??) when I set the book down it fell open to the page on Buntings. Eureka! Meet Mrs. Lazuli Bunting. Not to be sexist but I wish I could have also seen her strikingly colorful mate!

Follow-up #2
I said I would post a photo that better depicts the 3-D nature of my challenge quilt "Seven Billion and Counting". So here it is.