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August has come to a close and with it, most of the opportunities that I will have to see new species. Our annual counts are decent for this time of year. Since January , we have seen a minimum of 196 birds; at least 209 wildflower species- not counting invasives; and at least 27 butterfly…

I really like the third week of August. I like it especially when it snows. I’ve experienced August snow 4 or 5 times since 1990 (when I moved to Montana). Snow, either in the valley or just in the hills ringing the valley is such a non-sequitur when there previous week often sees highs of…

This was a terrific day. SMR and I took the pup and headed to Bozeman for a day of ‘other’. We walk, eat meals, and all that stuff in Helena every day. Somehow, doing the same things a few miles away feels special. And it was special.   On the one hand, Hyalite canyon is…

At my latitude, August reclaims 28 minutes in the morning and 51 minutes in the evening through later sunrises and earlier sunsets. The benefit is that the sunrises and sunsets are easier to observe in August- and the weather patterns add to the scenery with a bit more cloudiness than we have in June and…

July was a lackluster month for birds. We added a paltry two species to the annual bird list- Clark’s Grebe and Caspian Tern on the first of the month in the Island Park area of Idaho. Yearly total stands at 186 species. We missed the opportunity to add several ‘rare’ species that we learned about…

For several years, we have done a bio-blitz into Yellowstone. Wake up at home – get out the door early – in the park by 9am – 10 hours of walking and driving to find all the animals we can see – dinner in Gardiner – home to our own beds by 10 or 11pm.…

I noticed the sun rose over the eastern mountains at just about about 6am today. So, I made a second cup of coffee and got out the door with the Lab. We headed for the Old Rifle Range Trailhead. I wanted to find a flower that my BWF (Best Wildflowering Friend) told me about somewhere…

June 21, 2023 was a good day. Just pre-dawn, I found myself on the roof taking a picture of the sky in the NE. The way the orange fades to blue is simply breathtaking when the sky is clear, and the sun has not yet come up over the Big Belts. I was immersed in…

Since May 1, I have logged just over 210 miles of hiking – primarily across Mount Helena. That’s just a bit over 4.75 miles every day. My tracker also suggests that I have climbed a touch over 54,000 feet of elevation in that time- about 10 miles of vertical. I believe that you never walk…

I had a very nice excursion today. I took a day trip up into the Sun River country. I’ve always taken a right turn in August and headed towards Fairfield or Choteau, but I’ve always been curious about the sign suggesting that there was a reservoir ‘out there’ if I went straight at the intersection.…