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Hollyhock Cabin
Dubois, Wyoming
2021

I don’t really remember if either of my grandmothers grew hollyhocks and I know my parents did not; but for some reason I always think of “old times” when I see them. So what better background for them than a log cabin?

Hollyhock Alley
Dubois, Wyoming
2021

Im not sure why, but these hollyhocks growing in front of the pale blue garage building definitely caught my attention.

Patriot’s Dream #66
Dubois, Wyoming
2021

Views From the Pond #9
Bozeman, Montana
2021

Continued smokey and unseasonably hot days makes it seem strange to see fall colors starting to appear here. But its time and it’s coming.

Views From the Pond #8
Bozeman, Montana
2021

Some years ago, I gathered various native grass seeds to plant on some disturbed soil. There are so many different varieties of grass and grass-like plants I downloaded an app to try and help me identify what I was growing. The main thing I learned from the app and from reading about grasses in general is that it’s very hard for a mere layman like myself to determine anything but broad categories of these plants. One thing I did learn is that there is a difference between true grasses and the grass-like sedges such as that pictured here. It turns out that sedges are easy to distinguish from grasses because “sedges have edges” per a common identification rhyme. That is, the stems of sedges are generally not round but triangular in cross-section. The easiest way to tell if you’re holding a sedge is to roll it between your fingers. If it does not roll smoothly it has angular sides and is a sedge.

Views From the Pond #7
Bozeman, Montana
2021

Showy fleabane, a not very classy name for a lovely little late summer and fall flower. It’s name is from Old English and refers to its odor which was thought to repel fleas.

Cement Mixer
Bozeman, Montana
2020

It’s probably been 20 years or more since I last used this cement mixer, or even moved it at all. Over the years of rusting, the water draining down the back of it has for whatever reason created specific paths to the base of each gear cog on the outer rim of the vessel. Strange. With the bright colors (somewhat enhanced on the computer) it has the look of lightning strikes.

The Beauty of Your Demise
Bozeman, Montana
2021

A closeup of some of the downy feathers on a chickadee that died somehow and was laying out by our garage.

Eavesdropper
Bozeman, Montana
2021

I was down behind our garage working when I got a phone call from a friend. I wasn’t paying much attention to my surroundings while talking to him, but at one point I happened to look up and saw this mule deer doe maybe 20 feet away listening intently to the conversation.

The Big Guy
Bozeman, Montana
2021

(O.K. maybe its a big girl not a big guy, but I have a roughly 50% chance of being correct with the title.) In cleaning scum and an excess of cattails out of our pond, I discovered this previously unknown (to us) frog that is much larger than the little one we’ve been aware of for some time. Like the little one, it has a preferred spot where it likes to return every day. It’s spot is right on the edge of the pond, partially concealed by overhanging grass, which is why we had not seen it before.