Author: BradinMontana

The back of our home faces the rising sun on the longest day of the year – NorthEast-ish. So, mid-June, the house is filled with natural light starting at about 5:30am. I love it. The angle of our home to the sun also provides us with a sun marker – or sun dagger – that…

There really is a little of something for almost everyone on Mount Helena. Mount Helena rises to a total height of 5,464 feet (1665m), about 1,400 feet (426m) above the Helena Valley. There are at least 33 miles (53k) of trails spread out across the 36 named trails that run across, around, and away from…

At one point today we were standing quite still and the Lab and I had over 300 Bohemian Waxwings flying back and forth over our heads. I could clearly hear the wingbeats as dozens swept back and forth only a few feet over my head. That was, perhaps, the most restorative thing to happen today. …

The back of our home faces the rising sun on the longest day of the year – NorthEast-ish. So, mid-June, the whole house is filled with natural light starting at about 5am. I love it. The angle of our home to the sun also provides us with a sun marker – or sun dagger –…

It’s lovely having the morning light creeping back into our world. These moments when the soft light creeps in and baths everything in a light that tends towards the pastel, have such short lifespans. I really love these moments.  I took this image this morning, and decided to do a little cropping as I walked.…

The lighting for Mount Helena was not terrific, but the cloud formation above the hill was worth stopping on the street and grabbing a quick image. Helena is a such beautiful place to live, work, and play.

I went out midday, looking for a short-eared owl that had been cited in the Helena valley. I was unsuccessful at finding the owl. I did, however, find a porcupine eating the cambium layer of a tree. He was decently far away and refused to cooperate and give me a good view of his face,…

The Scratchgravels were looking pretty inviting as I walked the Labrador at the Fairgrounds today. If it hadn’t been -17f (-27c), I might have headed out there and done a nice walk. I suspect there are Red Crossbills in the ‘gravels right now.  But the Lab really cannot take deep snow and sub-zero any more.…

It was 35° (1°c) and snowing when I snapped this image- which was wonderful. But we’re heading towards a low of -20° (-29°c) on Friday morning. More snow is forecast and we have a high wind warning, as well. This may be the last trail walk for a few days. The Labrador is getting a…

What a crazy day. We found a single Phlox with a white bloom, a Field Pussytoes growing and looking happy and healthy, a similarly healthy looking Prairie Smoke plant looking green and lush and the another one that I am struggling to ID. January is no time for plants to be growing in the hills…