"Fairyslipper - Calypso bulbosa" by amontanaview | RedBubble

"Fairyslipper - Calypso bulbosa" by amontanaview | RedBubble:

Beautiful and delicate flower that loves deep shade and cool, moist conditions. This is such a precious flower of the mountain west. The photo was taken just south of Sweathouse Creek in the Bitterroot Mountains of western Montana, USA. As you can see, the sun was peeking through the thick canopy of the forest.

"Glacier Lily - Erythronium grandiflorum" by amontanaview | RedBubble

"Glacier Lily - Erythronium grandiflorum" by amontanaview | RedBubble:

Taken near Sweathouse Creek in the Bitterroot Mountains of western Montana, USA. Spring flowers are prolific this year. Other names for this flower include dog tooth violet, avalanche lily, fawn lily, and snow lily.

Canon EOS 7D – SIGMA 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG Aspherical DF Macro SLD Autofocus Lens
1/640/s, f/7.1, ISO: 200, 56 mm

"Blue Clematis bud" by amontanaview | RedBubble

"Blue Clematis bud" by amontanaview | RedBubble:

Taken near Bear Creek in the Bitterroot Valley, Montana USA.
Clematis is a member of the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae). This species is a woody vine that blooms early in the spring. It is one of my favorite spring flowers. It grows in moist, shady areas that seem enchanted to me.

"Two-tailed Swallowtail Butterfly" by amontanaview | RedBubble

"Two-tailed Swallowtail Butterfly" by amontanaview | RedBubble:

Two-tailed Swallowtail (Papilio multicaudata) on a ninebark shrub in the Bitterroot Mountains west of Victor, MT, USA. These visit my lilac bushes, too.
Canon EOS 7D, 1/640s, f/5.6, ISO:200, 300mm
Mallow Ninebark (Physocarpus, Rose Family)

"Montana Nature Calendar" Calendars by amontanaview | RedBubble

Visit Montana all year long with your Montana Nature Calendar "Montana Nature Calendar" Calendars by amontanaview | RedBubble:

"Swallowtail Butterfly on Syringa " by amontanaview | RedBubble

"Swallowtail Butterfly on Syringa " by amontanaview | RedBubble:

Featured photo on RedBubble 10-8-2011 The Group - Homepage Click Here

Hike up Sweathouse in late July

It was a hot day. The creeks and river waterflows are diminishing. It rained heavily the day before and even though the seasonal streams are drying up, there were a few new "puddles" in some of the draws where everyone and everything took advantage of the water.

To see all the photos in a new window, click Merle's SmugMug Hike up Sweathouse in late July.

May Wildflower Favorites

These photos were taken yesterday in the Bitterroot Mountains. They are some of my May wildflower favorites. My SmugMug site will have folders featuring each particular flower shown here and more.

See the slideshow below. To see all the wildflower photos, click Merle's SmugMug Wildflowers. I will be posting more later today.

April Showers Bring May Wildflowers

In May we are seeing more and more spring flowers come into bloom. The slideshow from my SmugMug site has arnica, arrowleaf balsamroot, shooting stars, serviceberry, indian paintbrush, oregon grape, and more.

It has been a cool spring with only a little moisture until recently. The aspen and cottonwood and shrubs are finally getting their leaves and it is looking green again!



To see the slideshow with captions in a new window click May Wildflowers

Is this Erigeron compactus (Fern-leaf Fleabane)?

I photographed this flower on a dry ridge south of Sweathouse Creek at mid-elevation. I haven't been able to find a good photo of Erigeron compactus (Fern-leaf Fleabane) but the description sounds like this flower. Anyone out there know?

A Few More Wildflowers in April

I saw this Yellowbell on April 8th. There are more, now, you will see them with the Shooting Stars in the photo below. To quote the Montana Plant Life.org site,

"...usually solitary, occasionally 2, and rarely 3, nodding, rather narrowly
bell-shaped, yellow, often purplish-or brownish-streaked near the base, fading
to red or purple."

The next two photos were taken on April 20.

Shooting Stars are so pretty! I found these next to a second order stream on the south side of Sweathouse Creek.

To the left is one of the most popular spring flowers, the Glacier Lily, or some people call them the Dogtooth Violet. They come into bloom in our area in April just after the Buttercups, Yellowbells, and Shooting Stars. These were in a shaded montane forest also south of Sweathouse Creek.

Spring has sprung Flowers - Pasqueflower

I have been busy editing a large amount of photos so I haven't posted recently. I am putting a Pasque Flower on for now and will come back with a slideshow soon of all the wildflowers I am seeing. They are beautiful and certainly lift one's spirits.

I see these Pasque Flowers on lower elevation shady slopes that have good drainage. Montana Plant Life.org has an interesting write-up on medicinal uses for this plant.

Click here for Montana Plant Life.org's Pasqueflower page or Yahoo search for Pasque Flower.

View Album - click here to see in a new window

Wildflower photos taken on hikes this summer

Here is a select group of photos taken in the Bitterroot Moutains. The slideshow is in the order taken, the first in Mar, the last in early August. What a beautiful year we had, plenty of moisture and healthy ecosystems.

See the slideshow below. To view it in full screen, click on "View Album" and choose "Slideshow."

View Album