Leftovers

 More leftover photos from the last week. Most are from the Beartooth hike with one early morning photo of Heart Mountain thrown in.


First up - the view looking south from our campsite.

 Next is the view to the north from the campsite.


 One of the first Elephant Heads of the season. These are my favorite wildflowers!

To the left is a Pygmy Bitterroot. These are about a tenth the size of the normal Bitterroot.

 This little guy was "hiding" in the grass as we went by. Doesn't he look fierce?

There were two types of Puffballs prevalent on the Beartooth tundra. These misshapen globs were everywhere.

And last, but not least...Heart in the morning!

Feelin' Blue

I mentioned that we did not see any other people on our Beartooth trek, but that doesn't mean we were alone!
One of the visitors to our camp was a big blue grouse. She was very calm and hung around for a couple hours, sunning herself on a rock near our tent. She seemed totally unperturbed by us or the llamas.

 As I was taking photos of the big bird I suddenly noticed movement in the background through my lens. Sure enough, a closer look revealed at least five chicks playing the grass around her feet. Can you see the small ball of feathers against the rock to her left?

Talk about a camo-bird!

On Top of the Beartooth

This summer has been so busy that it seems the days are flying by and fall will be here before we know it! We decided at the last minute to take a couple days and go llama packing in the Beartooths while we could.

There is still more snow on top than I have ever seen at this time of year. Many of the snow banks will not melt before new snow falls in October. The temperature got down to below freezing at night and the puddles from melting snow were frozen in the morning.

 The natural snow sculptures were plentiful and unique! Ken decided to test the strength of one small bridge. Rusty was not convinced it was a good idea.

 You can see in this picture why we decided to go around the snow fields when we could. You never knew when it might be hollowed out underneath and falling through would not have been fun for the four llamas we had along.

 Spring is just arriving on much of the plateau and the wildflowers are out in all their glory!

 We camped on a bench overlooking the plains. We did not see any sign of other humans on our trek. The southern (Wyoming) side of the plateau gets much less traffic than the north (Montana) side - probably because there are no trails so you need to have some map navigation skills to get where you want to go.

I took a couple photos of Heart Mountain from the top but the air over the plains was really hazy so it looks like the picture was taken through waxed paper!

Easy ID

 One of the easiest birds to identify has to be the seemingly ubiquitous red-tailed hawk. They almost always are kind enough to flash their tail in the viewer's direction, allowing for an easy ID.

 We don't see a lot of them around our place - they are like the turkey vulture in that they are occasional visitors.

This guy's sound is as distinctive as his looks. I never tire of hearing their scream when they are hunting the area. The funny thing is that it is probably the most abused sound there is. I can't count all the times I have heard it used in a movie or on the radio as an "eagle" call!

Just dropping by...

 Once or twice a year I will look up at a large silhouette, expecting a golden eagle, and realize it is a very different bird indeed!

I am not sure why we so rarely see turkey vultures here when they are very common just a short distance away. The first two photos were taken in Cody last fall when the entire vulture clan was hanging out in a tree, soaking up warm sun rays. 

The last two shots were snapped a few days ago just down the road.  He looks pretty bedraggled in the first photo but they are still impressive birds for their size alone!

Lazy Days of Summer

People often ask if our llamas are bothered by the winter cold since they are South American animals. In reality they are used to lower temperatures at high altitude and they seem happier in snow than they are in the middle of July heat. We try to shear them before the summer sun becomes unbearable and, during those two weeks or so of mid-summer when it is unpleasant for all creatures without air-conditioning, I try to hose them down at least once a day. 

Their most common defense against becoming over-heated is to do nothing. They are a lot like humans in that way. What I think of as the meditation pose for llamas is called a "kush". It is the pose in which you are most likely to find a relaxing llama whether it is resting on the trail, sleeping at night time or just trying to avoid heat producing activity at mid-day. The photo above shows the grand dame of our herd, Jake's Girl - Jake for short - in a classic kush. Jake is 27 years old and has just begun to show her age in the last six months or so. She has always been a class act and it hurts me to see her struggling to work out the stiffness every time she stands or jumping  in fright because she has apparently lost her hearing. 

The younger llamas are more likely to lie on their side in the heat of day with their belly and legs exposed. The llama above is Cashmere; one of Jake's great-granddaughters, in a casual moment. You would never see Jake in such an undignified pose!

And then it seems we always have one llama in the herd who is totally uncouth! Here is Rusty in his bare-all, I-don't-give-a-damn-what-the-world-thinks-of-me pose. If he was human he would be the guy sunbathing naked in his back yard!

Coneheads

 This time of year the "coneheads" seem to take over the prairie! Pink Prairie Clover and its close cousin, White Prairie Clover, are widespread and abundant. The flowers and leaves look nothing like the more recognizable red and white field clovers with their magical lucky leaves.

The other cone shaped wildflower we see a lot this time of year is the Prairie Coneflower. The other name for this plant is Mexican Hat. I wonder if the hombre who owned the hat  below had two heads!?

Morning Hike

 For the last five days I have been tied up with Quilt Wyoming, the annual convention of the Wyoming State Quilt Guild. It is always a fun event and a great chance to catch up with friends that live in other parts of the state. The convention travels around five designated regions and this was the year for Northwest Wyoming to be the host. That meant that we all had lots of work to do and now we get to enjoy the next four years as other regions are in charge.
My one disappointment from the event was that my new little Nikon camera let me down. I took dozens of shots - or so I thought - but found an empty card when I got home last night!

One of my favorite quilters, Vikki Pignatelli, came from Ohio to teach at the conference and she and husband Denny then came to stay with us for a few days before traveling on to another teaching engagement later this week. This morning we went on a short llama trek to look at the scenery. Denny was leading Hobbitt - above - who decided he needed to stop and eat some wild onion. Who knew a llama could have onion breath?

 On the way up to the lookout.

Ken, Pancho, Rusty, Vikki, Capolla, Denny and Hobbitt pose for a photo.

Views

 Most of my photos are of fauna and flora but I occasionally take shots of the beautiful landscapes in which I find myself.
As I get ready to head out the door to Quilt Wyoming for the next few days, I thought I would show a sampling of a few shots from the trip to Montana and back.

The first shot above shows the view from Ted Turner's back deck with Spanish Peaks in the background.

 The second shot is also on Turner's ranch. Everything is so green this year!

The third photo was taken on our hike in Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park.

This shot is from the Lamar River Trailhead and showcases the sticky geranium in the foreground.

And, of course, the obligatory picture of Heart Mountain. This view is from the west as you come down Chief Joseph Highway.

Dog Days

On our way to Bozeman on Saturday we had to go by the Greycliff Prairie Dog Colony State Park (not quite the right name - but close). Not only was it a sunny day, but we actually had a few minutes to spare so I talked Ken into taking a short detour.
I get such a kick out of watching these social creatures in action!


Left - "Don't you hate waiting for your nails to dry after a manicure?"

Mama on the lookout while her youngsters play.

Right - The guy who sounds the warning when intruders like me show up!

Social hour.

Taking it easy!

Four Bear-ance

 On Saturday we attended an event hosted by Ted Turner on his bison ranch in Montana - more about that another day.

Because we were so far from home, we decided to spend Saturday night near Big Sky and then drive home through Yellowstone Park on Sunday. We debated where to stop for a hike in the Park and decided on a trail along the river in Lamar Valley. This is a hike we have done dozens of times before and one we always enjoy.

When we crossed the bridge over the Lamar we realized we were going to have to change our plan a bit. Not only was the low ground where the trail crosses very marshy from recent rains, but the bison were strewn across the bottom land blocking access without putting yourself in danger. So we decided to bushwack a little and take a route we have taken in the past that leads more to the east toward a large band of rock. We did not do this trek at all last year because the area was closed all summer due to bear activity.
We are always very bear aware and perhaps even more so this week since the tragic mauling death of a tourist by a grizzly bear near Canyon.

About two miles into our hike, as we were approaching the rock wall, I heard a noise and saw a flash of black fur running through the brush toward a big tree. Ken was behind me so I turned and yelled "bear" to warn him. He came up to me and we both had our bear spray in hand as we tried to assess the situation.
The conversation went like this:
Ken: Where is it?
Me: In that big tree. I think he climbed up.
Ken: I see him. It looks like a cub.
Me: He is really cinnamon colored! I thought he was black.
Ken: He is black.
Me: OMG! There are two bears in the tree!

Sure enough - there were two bears in the tree; one cinnamon colored and one black. We were pretty sure they were black bears but we didn't want to take the time to try to figure it out for sure at that moment and we sure didn't want to underestimate a mama bear of any kind. We started to continue on our way but quickly realized that was going to take us even closer to the pair and could be construed as a threatening move on our part. So we backed out slowly the way we had come, keeping eyes and ears open for any sign of pursuit and keeping our bear spray firmly in hand.

I did click off a few shots as you can see but I want to emphasize that 1) I took the shots during those few seconds we were deciding what to do - we did not linger or try to get closer for a better view and 2) I was using a high quality 400mm lens and have since cropped these photos.  We were not anywhere as close as you might think from these shots!

All in all we saw four bears on our trip through the Park - almost certainly all black bears. I am just happy we did not see a fifth in this pair's protective mama!

Bald Ridge Beauty

Bald Ridge is an area about three miles to the south of our property that is made up of both BLM and National Forest land. It is critical wintering area for much of the area's big game species and it is a wonderful place to hike for some great views.


I was not fortunate enough to have blue skies on my recent visit but that didn't ruin the day.

This tree always makes me think of an African landscape.

 Western Tanager (top) and Green-Tailed Towhee (right)

Another view of Heart Mountain on the return trip.