Skywatch Friday: May Showers

In Butte America, as the saying goes, "If you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes." Very true, especially in the spring, as bands of sun and showers sweep over the mountains that ring the Silver Bow Creek valley.

Sunrise dawns mostly clear but with a "Red skies in morning, sailors take warning" message. Who sails through these mountains?

Afternoon, a band of showers creeps up the valley, obscuring the bright blue sky:

Settles in for awhile over the old mining town (the tall structures are mining head frames, aka "gallows frames"):

Probably to the chagrin of this mountain bluebird (lower right):

But to the joy of bitterroot rosettes (aka "rock roses," Montana's state flower) storing moisture for blooms that come in the droughty heat of July:

We drove across the Continental Divide to the Big Hole side, hoping to see elk back on their calving range. Alas, it's a bit early--still winter in the Big Hole, though we did see (and hear) several pairs of sandhill cranes and a white-tailed kite (a rather uncommon "vagrant" bird in Montana). Here's a view of the Pintler mountains behind the Mule Ranch (where the Anaconda Copper Mining company once raised mules for the mines of Butte):

Back home in sundown Butte, what weather do you want? Looking east:

Looking west:

Like the weather in Butte, Montana? Wait 15 minutes.