Skywatch Friday: A Coyote Tale, as told by the Whiskeyjack People

When I stop for lunch or a handful of gorp while hiking, I always leave some food for the Whiskeyjack People (from the Algonquian wiskedjak; aka Gray Jays). These cheery souls have several times led me to bedded elk -- they like to feast on the entrails -- so I stay on good terms with these Trickster People. As I stopped for a pot of tea and a nap while on a hike along the Continental Divide in the upper Big Hole River valley near Butte, Montana (see previous post), they told me this story:

Sun rose in a clear, blue sky. Soon the day became very warm. The Bear, Red Squirrel and Blue Grouse People were very happy as they watched Whitebark Pine's cones (full of tasty pine nuts) ripen:

Bull Elk Person was not happy. Warm Sun made the flies active and they were biting the shit out of him. Shamefully he wallowed in mud, soiling his beautiful blond coat (photo of elk wallow):

Coyote saw this and went around telling all the other People what a miserable bastard Sun was to make Bull Elk suffer so. Sun heard this and was shamed. He raised moist air from the valleys and it formed puffy clouds as it moved over the mountains:

By sunset, the clouds were big and rain fell:

As the air became moist and dark, the Mosquito People danced their war dance and came forth. They bit the shit out of Coyote, but all the People just laughed. Sun laughed so hard that soon the showers passed and a rainbow lit up the sky (with my neighbor's horses guarding the pot of gold):

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All of these photos were taken in a single day. The first three while on a hike (see previous post), and the last two after returning home to Walkerville (near Butte).