Hoppy Days in Butte Montana

Heavy spring snows broke down the old arbor, and the warm (60+ degrees!) wet days are making the hops bines grow:

Mrs Rover & I drove a few miles to The Moulton for small, flexible lodgepole pines. First, cut & trim:

Then rack 'em in the truck:

A few hours later, with help from a pint or two of hoppy brew and some twine (and good Boy Scout lashings), a new arbor (two actually, for the hops bines in the front yard outgrew their old one):

Oh what's this? Common Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) all budded up? The perfect stage for a meal:

Bacon, dandelion greens, elk steaks, and a pint (and Thou). Heaven in a cast iron pan:

Meanwhile, wildflowers on the Butte hill are blooming. As an ecosystem in recovery from a century of mining and smelting damage, changes from year-to-year can be dramatic. The first Silky Phacelia (Phacelia sericea) began colonizing the mine waste soils about five years ago, and now they are common:

In recent years, Fuzzytongue Penstemon (Penstemon eriantherus) began to show up, but it was scarce. This year, it is everywhere:

Why is it called "Fuzzytongue?" Glad you asked!:

There's also showy Drummond's Milkvetch (Astralagus drummondii)--see the ant?:

And good old Sulfur Buckwheat (Eriogonum umbellatum):

Mmmm... I'm feeling sleepy. Must be the poppies--lascivious, voluptuous poppies (blooming soon in a virutal yard near you):

Have a bluebird day!