09 July 2009

Skywatch Friday: Rainbows & Lupine Skies

July in the Northern Rockies. Nights are clear and cool. The morning begins with a cloudless sky (view to Highland Mountains from Butte, Montana):

Clouds build as the warm mid-day sun lifts moisture from the valleys and it condenses over the ridges of the Continental Divide )view to Pintler Mountains from Mule Ranch/Big Hole River):

Thundershowers sweep across the Big Sky, and if you're on the lookout, most days bring a rainbow (mid-afternoon, looking East from the Butte Hill):

Or two (note the extremely high angle--caught at sunset from my front porch in Walkerville):

And, my favorite Montana sky of all: the one caught in the water droplet that forms at the center of a lupine's leaves:

18 comments:

Sylvia K said...

Magnificent shots! And, oh, the memories they brought! I raised my family in Great Falls and traveled extensively during the sixteen years we lived there. Still miss it! Have a great weekend!

Maria said...

So beautiful ...
Love the rainbows...such a promise of hope to see them.
*A wonderful weekend to you*
~Maria

Janie said...

Those are fantastic skies. Love the rainbows. The lupine water droplet is a great shot, too.

The Hunter's Wife said...

Beautiful pictures. Love the first picture and the rainbow.

Carver said...

What a wonderful sequence of shots, complete with the rainbows. Thanks for visiting mine and to answer your question the tree in my shot is a crepe myrtle.

Tammie Lee said...

Beautiful Montana landscapes.
I am on my way to Butt right now,,, music time! Will you be taking the folks festival in or fleeing the masses?

secret agent woman said...

I especially like that last shot with the water drop.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Oh---how I love those rainbow pictures. WOW!! They are all great, ER, but the rainbows are my fav's.

Have a great weekend.
Betsy

Light and Voices said...

Simply lovely rainbow photograph. I liked your lupine shot a lot.
Joyce

L. Neusiedler said...

beautiful! and I like rainbows so much!

Rune Eide said...

Never a dull moment with vistas like this! A rainbow is always nice, but the water drops on the leaf get my vote.

Pearl Maple said...

Magical views to be photographing, thanks for sharing this beautiful corner of the world with us in Sky Watch Friday.

Gennasus said...

Great shots and I love the water droplet.

syel said...

wow! you made me breathless with your photos. i like all of them. most especially with the rainbow photos.

Dewdrop said...

I love this collection of shots... rainbows and mountains... hard to top that.

Unseen India Tours said...

Beautiful,lovely and great shot !! This is simply outstanding...Unseen Rajasthan

Arija said...

Lovely raindrop in the Lupin leat, curled up like a sea-urchin. Very beautiful skies and rainbows. Enchantment on all sides.

Unknown said...

Wonderful series of shots...

love the one with the rainbow. :-)