Letting Go of the Bay Leaf: April 2019

Sunday, April 28, 2019

Mosaic Monday #25: Blowing Off the Dust

Showy Aster

Sometimes it pays off to let something sit for a while, maybe even gather some proverbial (albeit virtual) dust. I'm talking about pictures from past hikes. So far on this blog, I have documented 16 hikes and 3 water adventures, which brings us to the hike of August 31, 2017. In other words, I last reviewed this hiking entry and its attendant photos 20 months ago. Do you think it was a refreshing browse, almost as if seeing the photos for the first time? You betcha. So now it's your turn!

Yellow monkeyflower

It was a quiet morning when we departed the Camp Misery trailhead for Crater Lake, a 6-mile one-way hike. Only 2 other cars populated the parking lot, and the friendly rangers greeting us from the porch of the cabin last time were nowhere in sight.

Not a problem - it just means we get all of its glory to ourselves. And there was plenty of glory on show.

The trail is moderately difficult, with several steep sections that are mercifully short. Overall, it is an undulating trail that alternates a quad workout on the uppers and knee pounding on the downhills. Along the way, Martha Lake twinkles in a basin to the right of the path.

We paused at Birch Lake for a snack, and I admired the lake's diversity and photogenic aspects. Massive rocks anchoring the shoreline. Meadow fingers jutting into water (which make good access points for fishermen). Thick shrubs huddling along the water's edge, providing nesting sites and cover for little birds.

The trail traverses two ridges on its way to Crater Lake, and the second ridge is marked by unique rock formations with colorful purple striations. This is one of the many sources of the purple and red stones you see in the rivers and streams throughout Glacier National Park. (At this point in time, we had yet to locate the purple rock for the fireplaces in our new house, so we joked about carrying some large stones back to the car. Of course, we didn't!)

Being late August, most of the plants were going to seed. In dry, sun-drenched sections of the trail, the huckleberry bushes had turned red and any remaining berries were shriveled. Near these rock formations, the bushes still harbored a plentiful crop. On our way back, we would stop and collect a large container of the luscious berries.

Just short of Crater Lake, we were ecstatic to encounter a female mountain goat and two kids.

As you will see in the video below, she did not seem the least bit intimidated by us. The sound you hear is the wind, quite gusty that day.

After the goats drifted from view, we carried on to the lake and Man with Hat set to fishing while I enjoyed my lunch. Grass of Parnassus dotted the shoreline, and I spent some time attempting an in-focus shot, a battle against the wind.

The mama goat came over, without the kids. I still wonder about the purpose of her excursion so close to us.

The fish were not biting, or maybe the whitecaps on the lake made it too hard to see the fishing line moving in the water. We headed back the way we came, and soon had purple fingertips from plucking huckleberries, all the while keeping an eye and ear out for bears, which rely on the berries for part of their pre-hibernation diet.

We took the north trail alongside Birch Lake, and here Man with Hat caught 1 fish that wiggled off the hook before I could capture it on film. Showy Aster crowded the shorelines and creek beds, and I was glad for limitless digital photography as I snapped shot after shot.

When we began our hike, haze from the Sprague fire had limited what should have been expansive views of Flathead Lake to the west and Hungry Horse to the east. As we descended toward the trailhead, we found that the wind had chased off some of the smoke and opened up the view.

It was only upon returning to the house that we learned these same winds had fanned the Sprague fire and caught the historic Sperry Chalet in its path. As we had been blissfully hiking, the century-old structure beloved by generations of families and thousands of Glacier National Park hikers had been gutted. The good news? Re-building of the Chalet is well underway - see this link for more information.

(internet)

Mosaic Monday

Welcome to Mosaic Monday, a weekly meme where we get together to share our photo mosaics and collages.
Please include at least one photo mosaic/collage in your post.
The link will be open from 1 p.m. Sunday until 11 p.m. Monday (U.S. Mountain time).
Remember to add the link to your Mosaic Monday post and not the one to your blog.
Please link back to this post so that your readers will be able to visit and enjoy more wonderful mosaics; taking the MM blog button from my sidebar is an easy way to link back.
As host I will visit every participant and leave a comment so that you know I stopped by.
Please try and visit as many other blogs as you can, especially those that join in later, so that everyone's creativity can be appreciated fully.
Thank you for joining in today and sharing your mosaics with us.

Sunday, April 21, 2019

Mosaic Monday #24: No Hurry

All's calm at Lake McDonald - Glacier National Park

In Northwest Montana, this time of year is often referred to as a "shoulder season," a quiet time in between bouts of tourists - those that arrive in winter for skiing/other winter entertainment, and those that flock to the area in summer to visit Glacier National Park.

I find myself in that lull; our employment as Mountain Ambassadors has come to an end for the season, and yet it's too soon for many of our summer activities. And when presented with ample time, less seems to get done. "I have plenty of time for that," the thinking goes.

Then I heard this Zac Brown song on the radio. It captures my sentiment completely. Jettison the "to do" list, folks, and relish some life in the slow lane.

NO HURRY

Forget the dirty car, bills, cleaning and laundry!

You know my old car needs washing

And the front yard needs a trim

And the telephone keeps ringing

And the bossman knows I know its him

And the bills ain't gonna pay themselves

No matter anyway
'Cause I ain't in no hurry today

Stitching and American Idol by candlelight

There's nothing wrong with an old cane fishing pole

And the smell of early spring

Sit down in a fold-up easy chair

On a quiet shady river bank

Let the world go on without me

Wouldn't have it any other way

'Cause I ain't in no hurry today

Sweet Peaks Salted Caramel Ice Cream

Neighborhood sky (and more stitchin')

Ain't in no hurry

I'd be a fool now to worry

About all those things I can't change

And the time that I borrow

Can wait till tomorrow

'Cause I ain't in no hurry today

A little night-time reading

More stitchin'

Cocktails at Spotted Bear Distillery

When I must return

To the cold cold ground

Have 'em take their time

When they lay this sinner down

Heaven knows that I ain't perfect

I've raised a little cain

And I plan to raise a whole lot more

Before I hear those angels sing

(Gonna get right with the Lord)

But there'll be hell to pay

Coffee and cake doodles; Bird-watchin' with Maggie the Cat
Clockwise: Ruffed Grouse; American Robin; Turkey; Flicker

But I ain't in no hurry
Ain't in no hurry
Be a fool now to worry
About all those things I can't change
And the time that I borrow
Can wait till tomorrow
'Cause I ain't in no hurry
Ain't in no hurry
Ain't in no hurry today
Songwriters: ZACHRY ALEXANDER BROWN,WYATT DURRETTE,JAMES ALLEN OTTO © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.,REACH MUSIC PUBLISHING

Happy Easter, everyone!

Mosaic Monday

Sunday, April 14, 2019

Mosaic Monday #23: Anticipation

When we moved into our new house on April 14, 2018, I began taking notes about wildlife we saw around the acreage, including information such as date and location. And, of course, digital photography is a superb record-keeper since it embeds the date the photo is taken. My blog is another source of historic information about the last 12 months.

So, as the anniversary of our move-in date approached, the idea of a retrospective on flora and fauna deeply excited me, and mainly as a reminder about what we can expect as spring continues to unfold. I plan to maintain my journal, and in the years ahead I can envision a running dialogue such as "the bluebirds are late this year" or "flowers will be delayed because this winter slammed us with 5 more feet of snow than normal". Won't that be interesting?

For now, let's focus on what we can anticipate in the next 90 days. Maybe in a future post I can tell you if it happened or not!!!

APRIL

As the saying goes, April showers bring May flowers, so this month delivers more in the way of fauna than flora. Last year, April meant turkeys passing through our yard, but we have yet to spot any this year. The chipmunks, on the other hand, emerged from hibernation at the end of March and have been scampering around ever since.

Birds that have been absent for the winter have begun to appear. Both the Mountain Bluebird and Sandhill Crane have arrived at Hodge Lake, earlier than last year. I find it particularly interesting that I observe a mating pair of bluebirds in almost the same location as last year. I read some material that suggests these birds bond more to a nest site than to each other.

Sandhill Crane

Last year at this time, the bluebirds and swallows were considering our bird houses. This year, as I mentioned in my last post, we have already noticed the bluebirds examining the nesting quarters, but the swallows are still in absentia.

April also witnessed the return of the Red-Winged Blackbirds at our bird feeders. This year, the first one showed up on March 14, and now my feeders are mobbed by males and females alike on a daily basis. The sunflower seeds have also attracted an occasional house finch, a new visitor. On Friday, I almost fell over myself when a Red-Naped Sapsucker perched for just a few moments on our porch railing. (I knew it was a woodpecker, but I had never seen it before and had to look it up in my Montana field guide. SOOOO exciting!!!)

Other new sightings have included two otters. On April 7, in the early evening, Spousal Unit spotted something dark on the remaining ice of the lake, and he examined it through the binoculars while I deployed the spotting scope. Over the next few minutes, we watched one and then two otters slide in and out of the water onto the ice. At one point, they shared a fish that one of them had pulled out onto the ice. How cool is that?

On April 10, Spousal Unit (yes, he has sharp eyes) detected movement on the far side of the lake, and we soon determined that it was four wolves. We must have observed their activity for 20 minutes; they ran up and down along the edge of the lake, and at times acted almost like puppies in the way that they gamboled together. Of course, I have reported wolves before, but this is the first occasion that we have seen them in real time.

That same evening, I noticed something white moving around in the tall grass near the lake. On closer examination, it turned out to be a bald eagle eating something on the ground. Being this close to Hodge Lake is certainly a boon for wildlife!

MAY

May 2018 was a thrilling month since we witnessed the moose down at the lake, and the beaver pair moved into the neighborhood, building a dam and lodge lickety-split. After those initial sightings of the moose, it disappeared for parts unknown. We continued to see beaver activity in terms of changes to the dam, tree cutting and the occasional tail slap, but over the winter they have been entrenched in the lodge. Hopefully they will be more visible once the ice clears out.

The flowers surged last year during this month, and here are some of the beauties we can anticipate emerging first.

Lower left: Glacier Lily; Center: Blue Violet; Lower right: Aspen

Upper right: Kinnikinnick

Upper left: Serviceberry; Upper Center: Heartleaf Arnica; Upper right: Wild Strawberry

Lower left: Oregon grape; Lower Center: Not sure; Lower right: Lodgepole pine

On May 28, my trail cam documented the Columbian Ground Squirrels, but I am fairly certain they were scrambling about earlier. Just as I was wondering when they would leave hibernation, I spotted one yesterday on the slope just below the kitchen window. He was frantically eating the short grass; we shouldn't be surprised since he has been underground since mid-August!

May 29 brought a coyote loping through our leach field around 9.30 pm. At the time, it was a novelty that had me jumping up and down. Twelve months on, I have become accustomed to a sighting (at a distance) while I am running, and I have certainly captured plenty of them on my trail cam. Don't get me wrong, I am still mesmerized, but they are not as rare as I first imagined.

At the end of the month, we planted our flower pots. While this does not relate directly to my chronicles of native flora and fauna, I can use the reference as a safety net - generally, I don't have to worry about these plants suffering a snow storm or ravaging frost if I wait for the final days of May to set them out.

JUNE

Middle left: Narrowleaf Collomia

Middle right: Rose

Lower left: Starry Wild Lily of the Valley

Reproduction systems kick into high gear in this month. Fawns begin to appear, and as many as six elk with a baby in tow wandered the edges of Hodge Lake. A painted turtle crawled up the logging road and seemed to be digging a hole for eggs. This occurred twice that I witnessed. Each time, I placed rocks on either side of the area to enable monitoring (incubation is 72 days). Nothing came of it as far as I could tell.

Not to be outdone, the swallows were nesting in both bird boxes. (But by mid-June, the gnawing squirrels had kicked them to the curb.) I also glimpsed the occasional Western Tanager high in the pine treetops, and male and female crossbills chose our rock steps below the kitchen as a favorite hang-out. I still have not determined what drew them to that spot - something in the soil? Microscopic bugs that I could not see?

Of course, not all wildlife is welcome. This month also brought the carpenter ant infestation, which we were able to fend off quickly. That was a relief, and now I am constantly vigilant for bugs attempting to make a warm nest out of our house.

Abundant wildflowers danced in the meadows and nodded under the shrubs.

Upper left: Cinquefoil; Upper Middle: Blue Violet;

Upper Right: Butter and Eggs

Lower left: reflection in lake; Lower right: Shooting Star

Left: Yarrow; Upper middle: Pink Wintergreen; Upper right: Blue-eyed Grass

Lower middle: Self-heal; Lower right: Bog Orchid

I would be hard-pressed to choose the highlights from June, but the black bear on the logging road (captured by trail cam) and the badgers I observed would land at the top of the list.

JULY

Early July brought much of the same with an occasional surprise, such as the afternoon I glimpsed a small black bear on our driveway as I returned home from a run. Or the weasel that caught my eye from the window of our master bathroom.

As I sit here now, looking at barren tree branches and muddy ground, my mind struggles to grasp the life that is waiting just below every surface. I am dreaming about the wild grass and wildflowers that we sowed in the fall, immediately before the snow took over. Will it sprout? What kind of wildflowers will we see? Can we defend the new growth from the deer and the bunnies? Of course I am also keen to observe our formal landscaping. Does it come back? How much self-seeding occurred? Will our apple trees bloom and cross-pollinate? And then we have the pines and aspens we transplanted at the end of the summer. Did they survive the process? When can we expect the aspens to leaf out? So much anticipation. All I have to do is wait.

Mosaic Monday

Welcome to Mosaic Monday, a weekly meme where we get together to share our photo mosaics and collages.

Please include at least one photo mosaic/collage in your post.
The link will be open from 1 p.m. Sunday until 11 p.m. Monday (U.S. Mountain time).
Remember to add the link to your Mosaic Monday post and not the one to your blog.
Please link back to this post so that your readers will be able to visit and enjoy more wonderful mosaics; taking the MM blog button from my sidebar is an easy way to link back.
As host I will visit every participant and leave a comment so that you know I stopped by.
Please try and visit as many other blogs as you can, especially those that join in later, so that everyone's creativity can be appreciated fully.
Thank you for joining in today and sharing your mosaics with us.

Thursday, April 11, 2019

Be the Tapestry

It's Wednesday night, and I am nursing a Cosmopolitan while the radio plays popular music. Spousal Unit is downstairs, reviewing Game of Thrones episodes in advance of the Season 8 premiere this week. A perfect time to pen my next post.

My options are legion, but I lean toward March's lingering photos, and perhaps a re-cap of my 2019 resolutions. Or I could do both! Don't you like to get two for the price of one?

You're right, I did write about some of my resolutions in my March 14 post ... but don't worry, dear reader, this is new material. Are you sitting comfortably? Then let's begin.

And already I have writer's block. I would like to share my efforts in the area of "true charity". As you may recall (or not) I am committed to working on this virtue throughout the year as a result of an event I attended in January. So why the hesitation? Well, is it charity if you blow your own horn? I think I can convince myself that it's not self-serving, but in fact might inspire someone out there in blogland. OK. Here goes.

Once a week, I assist several fifth-grade students with math. This came about through one of my neighbors, a teacher in the school. I told her about this calling to true charity, and she described a long list of students at her school that could use help. I was ready to jump in.

Reading our Church bulletin one weekend, my eye was drawn to a paragraph about Sparrow's Nest, a homeless shelter dedicated to ensuring safe supportive housing and resources for unaccompanied homeless high school students in the Flathead Valley. I contacted them and my support thus far has included writing thank you notes and organizing donations.

Environmental issues are critical to me. Last year, I collected signatures for an initiative to expand alternative energy sources in Montana, but we did not garner enough support to place the initiative on the November ballot. I am still deeply interested in these issues, but I am casting about for the best way to have an impact. During March, I attended the kick-off presentation for the Montana Lakes Conference, held in Whitefish. I think we can all find an action to implement from this list. You may ask, what does this have to do with true charity? Well, don't we all want to leave the planet in better shape for our children and grandchildren?

On a smaller scale, I think sometimes the people in our very neighborhood may need support. I don't know why my friends come to Munch and Make, but part of me sees it as a community service. Is that a stretch?

OK, I am feeling pretty good about that goal. What about one that's not going so well? Drinking 64 ounces of liquid a day. Keeping in mind that alcohol and coffee do not count, I have managed to achieve this approximately 15% of the time. I just like coffee too much! It probably doesn't help that I asked Spousal Unit to buy me a Pour-over Coffee Brewer so that I can make just one cup of coffee at a time, particularly in the afternoon. Otherwise, I would be reluctant to turn on Mr. Coffee for just one or two cups!

Let's keep on with "not going well." Archiving my blog. I conducted a web search and found a process for saving my blog content and theme. Of course, this does not create a document that you can view, but you can use the resulting XML file with Blogbooker to fashion a book. I say fashion because the initial output I saw was low resolution and poor formatting. A fellow blogger recommended Blog2Print. My investigation revealed that you can order a book from the site (expensive at $34 for 20 pages) or create a pdf for only $9.95 (up to 60 pages). As a trial, I created a pdf and was disappointed with formatting that does not reflect the actual look of my blog, such as captions that are out of place, and it lacks the border elements of my blog. To be fair, I have not had a chance to follow up with the company about this. That's my next step. In the meantime, I am hoping against hope that the bugs in the machine don't decide to nibble away at my blog anytime soon.

OK, let's wrench this out of the gloom. I am faithful to my daily reflection using Streams in the Desert by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman. Here is a poem from February 12 that struck a chord.

No chance hath brought this ill to me;

'Tis God's own hand, so let it be,

He seeth what I cannot see.

There is a need-be for each pain,

And He one day will make it plain

That earthly loss is heavenly gain.

Like as a piece of tapestry

Viewed from the back appears to be

Naught but threads tangled hopelessly;

But in the front a picture fair

Rewards the worker for his care,

Proving his skill and patience rare.

Thou art the Workman, I the frame.

Lord, for the glory of Thy Name,

Perfect Thine image on the same.

Practice piano for 30 minutes every third day. My track record on this one is fairly solid, and I have improved enough to play a song or two for my Mom during a Skype call, per her request. I also received a call from our Piano Man, Daryl. He investigated our piano and learned that it was manufactured in 1909. Sounds pretty good for 110 years old, doesn't it?

For a while it looked like the stalagmite and stalactite might

actually join up

Continuing on an upbeat note (pun intended, LOL!) Sit in a different spot every day. I am hitting this about 50% of the time, but this will be easier now that it's staying light longer. (Quite often, by the time I get "around to" sitting, it's gotten dark and there's not much to see. I probably need to move past the idea that it's about "seeing", and I could also make more of an effort to park myself somewhere else earlier in the day.)

Regardless of my location, I try to be more observant, such as when a bird strikes our windows, necessitating a rescue. This pine siskin recovered quickly, but many of the birds end up on their backs. Almost always, if we turn them over and put them in a sunny spot, they survive. A neighbor of mine told me this may be because birds' lungs collapse easily when the bird is on its back. By flipping them over, we prevent this from occurring.

Being in the moment allowed me to notice that the bluebirds had returned in search of nesting sites. This occurred sooner in the month than we expected, requiring a quick fix to our bird boxes that had been gnawed by squirrels last spring. Thanks to the birder who suggested adding the metal washer - we have seen some ongoing interest, but no nest-building yet.

What is your most satisfying accomplishment thus far in 2019? Can you "Be the Tapestry?"

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All Seasons