Kidney Stone
Stillwater River, Montana
2020

The Geography of Survival #27
Paradise Valley, Montana
2020

It takes a licking and keeps on ticking.

The Geography of Survival #26
Paradise Valley, Montana
2020

To survive is to adapt to changing circumstances.

Little Landscapes #24
Passage Creek, Montana
2020

The series of Little Landscapes I recently posted, which were all of eroded areas in the desert, made me start seeing little landscapes in other media as well; in this case in wood on a broken tree stump.

Losing Face
Bozeman, Montana
2020

It was my birthday a week or so ago and in addition to making a delicious carrot cake, the Fashion Queen decorated this balloon for the occasion. Balloons lose air over time of course and the diameter of the balloon when I took this photo was about half of what it was on my actual birthday. It’s interesting that despite loosing so much volume, the face she drew on it seems to look the same as it did at the original size.

Mistaken Identity
Bozeman, Montana
2020

As was pointed out to me by several people, in yesterday’s post I for some strange reason called the flowers in the photo mountain bluebells instead of the forget-me-nots they were. I certainly knew the difference but my mind was obviously off in a different place than it should have been when I wrote the text for the post. Anyway, besides eventually correcting the post, I figured I should follow it up with a photo that really does show bluebells. I’m not calling these mountain bluebells because I’ve seen references to mountain bluebells, foothills bluebells, streamside bluebells, prairie bluebells, etc. I’m not educated enough in botany to be able to tell the difference between all the varieties (or know if some are different common names for the same flower) so will stick with the generic bluebell label–one I am confident will withstand scrutiny.

Remembering
Bozeman, Montana
2020

Today would have been my mother’s 94th birthday. She and my father visited us a number of times around this time of year when the wildflowers are in bloom. Of all the different varieties of wildflowers to be seen on our property, forget-me-nots were one of her favorites. I’m reminded of that every spring when they first start showing up.

Slow to Heal
Passage Creek, Montana
2020

This area burned 14 years ago in 2006. I have not been in the area since the fire and was amazed at how little recovery there was compared to other burned areas of the same vintage that I’ve seen. It must have been one hot fire. There was very little greenery in the area excepting some small brush and wildflowers. This stark environment did yield a good trail to hike in the time of coronavirus as it is not the kind of scenic location most folks would have high on their lists to visit.

Stalwart
Madison River, Montana
2020

On Guard
Madison River, Montana
2020