Brad's Blog
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April 5, 2021

I'm not sure of the bird ID, but I like the way it shows the translucency of wing feathers...
These are the final images from my trip back to Iowa and Minnesota last week:

Road
conditions may not warrant 55 mph travel... (wildlife area west of
Huron SD on US 14, returning home from Iowa and Minnesota...)

Antelope
I was able to take a picture of at Broadus MT reststop, probably only
15 yards away, because I'd come up on them behind a pile of dirt.

Destination, Crazies! (I wish... Crazy mountains viewed from near Big Timber Montana...)
April 11

Some
friends brought a lamb to visit a couple days ago. It's fleece is
white as snow. And it followed them about just like Mary's lamb.
I'd just gotten back from a one day trip to Seattle to get a new kiln.

The grass widows are at their peak up on the ridge...

Common merganser pair on Spirit Lake. Hard to believe they're the same species...

First trillium of the year, at Farragut State Park yesterday. Also called Western Wake Robin.

Recent
windstorms have created lots of fallen trees. When a tree tips
over it leaves a big footprint, and it can take years for the dirt and
rocks pulled up to work free of the roots. This one was in a
small spring fed creek at Farragut, creating a new pool in the rivulet.
April 12
As the grass widows start to fade, the glacier lilies begin, as well as buttercups


buttercups are hard to photograph in bright light since they catch the light so much, but it was cloudy when I took this.

These
northern shovelers were at the mill pond this morning, shoveling.
I wouldn't have known what they were but for having seen a lot of
them on the Mississippi recently...
I checked my ebird list and had seen some in 2016 at a marsh.
April 15

The bluebirds are back (western), along with great blue herons, red necked grebes, and mourning cloak butterflies:

These are known by the pale yellow fringe on the black (mourning) coat...

the snowshoe hares are transitioning to summer brown plumage, with the ears and legs of this one still slightly wintery...
April 19

Here are a pair of common goldeneyes from Spirit Lake...

This is the view of Priest Lake from near the museum yesterday...
A
windstorm blew through last night and took out the power for about 3
hours but did little local tree damage... It was in the 70's
yesterday and the 50's today...
April 22

In spite of their call which sounds like their necks are getting twisted, red necked grebes are always enjoyed by me...

Ring necked duck pair.
April 25
I heard a rufous hummingbird go to rest in a nearby bush, so here's a hummingbird that's not feeding...

And here's some spreading or cushion phlox from along the Dufort road this morning:

April 26
In late afternoon Butters and I climbed above Maiden Rock on Spirit Lake...

Morning
is the best time for the view here, as the glare can be overwhelming.
Still it was lovely... Mt. Spokane's ski runs are visible
about 10 miles away on the left...

An osprey flew by barely above me with a fish dangling...
April 29

Spring beauties (Clayonia lanceolata if I remember correctly)
start
blooming early and last a long time, by closing up at night and
reopening the next day... The wikipedia article indicates they
are edible from bulb to flower...

These shooting stars (Dodecatheon sp.)are gaining wide coverage on the local ridge...

There was a circle around the sun today up on the ridge...
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