Skywatch Friday: Wildflowers, Trout Fishing

Interesting spring weather, with snowy thunderstorms and beautiful hours between storms. Our rivers in southwest Montana are "blown out" by high water as the mid-elevation snow melts off, but the creeks -- especially those with abundant beaver dams to settle and clarify the water -- are fishing VERY well. Yesterday found me on the other side (west slope) of the Continental Divide, and on the way home I caught this beautiful sunset (the 585-foot tall Anaconda Copper Company smelter stack is silhouetted on the left):

Trout fishing
 I came home with a nice basketful of plump Brook Trout like this one:

I also caught (and released) a bunch of Rainbow Trout. Because of the cool weather/water temperatures they are still spawning. They run up the tributaries from the main-stem Big Hole River to spawn, and it's great fun to catch relatively large fish like this in small streams that you can practically jump across:

To complement that trout dinner, I also happened upon a few of these tasty puffballs:

Wildflowers
Lots of blooms happening, including Hesperochiron (Hesperochiron pumilus -- translates as "evening Centaur skilled in medicine"):

Blue Violets (Viola adunca):

Shooting Stars (aka "Roosterheads;" Dodecatheon pulchellum):

Small Bluebells (Mertensia oblongiflora):

And the usual mystery flower (a species of Phacelia?):

Aerial Joust
In addition to good fishing, lovely flowers, and meadows full of (distant) cow elk, I caught this drama as a kestrel chased a medium-sized hawk from its territory: