Spring's First Wildflowers

There's nothing blooming at 6,000 feet elevation around the little city of Butte, Montana. But Mrs Rover & I found the first wildflowers of spring while hiking with friends along the Big Hole River.

Hoods Phlox or Cushion Phlox (Phlox hoodi) is a common yet welcome harbinger of spring:

Like many early blooms, they are tiny:

These flowers were not quite open--could be either a Blue Bell (Mertensia) or Penstemon species:

Another small Penstemon species was flowering:

Along with the tiniest of all, probably a Lomatium species:

By comparison, the Easter Daisies (Townsendia hookeri) are positively huge:

With flowers we also met the first insects of spring. When asked by a theologian what the study of biology had taught him about the Creator, atheist and geneticist J.B.S. Haldane allegedly replied, “I’m not sure, but He seems to be inordinately fond of beetles.” Haldane's reply alluded to beetle species being so numerous, including the Ladybugs:

Hmmm.... The Creator must also be inordinately fond of Mosquitoes:

The Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolius) is not blooming yet, but it's a common shrub along the Big Hole River and an important browse for mule deer and other ruminants. Here is a branch of the shrub in striking contrast to a lichen-covered rock:

Speaking of deer, no hike is complete without MollyTheDog finding a deer spine:

Or an elk leg:

She had no interest in this old deer skull, which has almost returned to soil. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust:

Like the deer and flowers, we all come and go.  Hopefully, the Earth goes on.

Coppery Treasure: Skywatch Friday

It is true that in Montana, exactly as the song has it, seldom are the skies "cloudy all day." The change is abrupt, sometimes with storms clearing as quickly as they come:

Our spring weather pattern of snowstorm-followed-by-sunny-days has continued, but it's really spring now--even at 6,000 feet elevation along the spine of the North American continent. How do we know it's really spring? The snow -- like the six inches that came earlier this week -- is heavy and wet, very unlike our dry, powder snow of winter. On such days, it's hard to be at work for morning meetings and classes when the backcountry skiing is still so good.

But on sunny, warm days, it's also hard to be in my office instead of fishing on the river. Here's the view from a window down the hall--I don't think views like this make it any easier to be at work (view to Rampart Mountain/East Ridge of the Continental Divide overlooking Butte):

Mrs Rover and I appreciate the longer days. After supper, we walk MollyTheDog along the hill behind our home in Walkerville, taking in the coppery light (how appropriate for an old copper mining town!) of a sunset:

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Spring Hike

It's been the usual spring mix of weather this week in Butte America, with one notable exception: the snowstorms are now dumping heavy, wet snow instead of our usual dry powder. Here's a view from along I-90 (near the Virginia City exit) after Mike & I were blown off the river last week:

This week's storm dumped six inches of the stuff on us Tuesday night, and drat the luck I had meetings the next morning and could not get out for even a few hours of skiing before it melted off under the warm sun and clear sky of the next day. Did I mention being blown off the river? We were on the Jefferson and had just hooked up with one trout each when the storm hit. The white that you see in this photo is water lifted from the surface by one of many such wind gusts:

Mrs Rover and I chose a better day for a walk with Dave & Gloria around Warm Springs Ponds at the headwaters of the Clark Fork River, with a good view toward Deer Lodge and Mount Powell:

The resident bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) female was on her nest in a big old cottonwood. There was a heron rookery here until the eagles moved in and killed off the young in the nests some years ago. Bubba was presumably off looking to kill a fish or duck:

The pussy willows (Salix sp) are in their glory:

And waterfowl and songbirds (like this yellow-headed blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) are breeding & raising the next generation (lower right--click to enlarge):

For serious bird watchers, Warm Springs Ponds is a Mecca. For the rest of us, it's still a lovely place to enjoy a warm spring day along the Continental Divid of southwest Montana.

Skywatch Friday: Mountains, Snow, Sun

Weather is unsettled (and unsettling) this time of year at 6,000 feet eleveation in the Northern Rocky Mountains of southwest Montana. We'll have a day or two of gorgeous, blue-bird days (and yes, I saw our first Mountain Blue Bird earlier this week!) as shown by this view from Butte, America, south to the Highland Mountains:

But then in the evening you see the clouds coming, 50 miles or more away, rolling up the Clark Fork River valley. Looks like a ski day tomorrow!

A fresh snowfall comes overnight (an inch in town, more in the mountains), just enough to keep the backcountry skiing tempting. Morning dawns. Given the view from the front porch, you're not quite sure whether to dress for blizzard or sun:

By late morning, though, the sky clears, the air warms, and the snow melts. The crystalline blue views to the mountains of the Pintler wilderness west of our little city are breathtaking:

To fish or ski? That is the question. You can do both (ski morning, fish afternoon), but it really interrupts the work schedule!

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The Last Ski?

As the snow rotted out and bare patches began opening on the hills of The Moulton cross country ski area just north of my home in Walkerville, I was ready to put the skis away and take up trout fishing. Several snowstorms later (intercut by glorious, sunny, "blue bird days"), I have some good skiing in the hills near Sugarloaf along the Continental Divide (aka "Mt Haggin" ski area) about 25 miles from Butte, Montana. The area is a little higher and wetter than The Moulton, and cold nights (in the teens) have kept the snow.

MollyTheDog likes it there because we are usually joined by the St Bernard from a local lodge (for size comparisons, note that MTD is 55 pounds):

The backcountry snow has a solid base (the dogs can run on it) and you can access wonderful off-trail areas via the Crooked John trial (first tracks!):

Which leads to the Little California Trail:

Which leads to open slopes along the Divide (Spire Loop area) with a "quick exit" down the Sleepy Hollow trail and back to the parking area:

The last ski of the season? Maybe, given today's blue bird weather. Depending on how the fishing is, though, backcountry skiing can easily continue into May, and later for those willing to trek into the remote, higher backcountry of the Pintler and Tobacco Root mountains.

Butte's "exclusive" Silver Bow Club

I recently had the privilege of meeting with U.S. Senator John Tester at his field office in the Silver Bow Club building here in Butte, Montana. Senator Tester is uniquely Montanan. Raised on a farm (he still owns & operates it) homesteaded by his grandparents, he is dedicated to environmental conservation, working across party lines, and veterans' issues. A good man whom I was proud to support for election in 2006, and whom I hope long serves We The People.

But this story is about the building that I visited for the first time, just one of many listed sites in America's largest U.S. Historic Landmark District:

 Next to the Butte-Silver Bow Courthouse, the Silver Bow Club was completed in 1907 for Butte, America's, business elites. Founded by "Copper King" W. A. Clark, members included other capitalist robber barons such as J. P. Morgan (note the third floor--I'll get to that):

Like many of Butte's finer buildings of this era, the granite steps were probably quarried locally, perhaps at the Welch Quarry:

I wonder what these iron hooks in the steps were for?:

Entering the building, the opulent reception area includes a grand fireplace (with Butte's "Silver Bow" symbol) and lots of dark wood:

The wall panel frescoes depict Medieval English archers in various partying and hunting scenes:

The orignal robber baron members must have thought themselves heirs to the "sporting life" of the British gentry. Reminiscent of the recent strip-club party and family values of the Republican Party, the third floor was reserved for mistresses of the club's members.

In a lovely twist of fate, following the economic collapse of the 1930s, the Silver Bow Club became for many years the headquarters of the Butte Miners Union. Today, it houses the field office for Senators Tester and several local businesses and not-for-profits.

Sources:
Butte Historic Tours
Patty Dean, "Silver Bow Club of Butte"

Skywatch Friday: Raven Calls the Storm

Raven is a powerful force in the Northern Rocky Mountains around Butte, Montana. When I heard Raven calling, I climbed the hill out back to see what all the fuss was about. Raven was hungry and not yet ready to let go of Winter-That-Kills. Raven called, "Slippery highways, road kill! Snow covered range, starvation! Bring it on!" In a bright blue sky, Raven quorked & pleaded:

Out to the West, Storm Cloud too heard Raven's call and rolled up the valley to see what all the fuss was about:

In answer to Raven's cries, Storm Cloud dumped snow on the land, and Raven chortled:

The next morning, MollyTheDog (her father was a Raven who left her a fine, black coat) said, "Let's go for a ski!":

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Christmas Reading: In Appreciation of Books

I read a lot and am thankful for friends that feed my habit. Unfortunately, the past few years, I was engaged in a research project that entailed reading hundreds of books and articles, and thousands of pages of government documents and archived correspondence. My "reading for pleasure" took a big hit. The project is now largely completed and I've had a chance to get into those Christmas gifts.

Sir Edward Grey's Fly Fishing (1899) was a gift from Andy Wilson, my old friend from grad school, a history professor with Keene State in New Hampshire, and a serious aficionado of fine, old books like this:

Although 100+ years old, the book was brand new in the sense that it had never been read! How do we know this? Unopened pages--i.e. the pages were folded and bound, but the edges never cut open:

In addition to many good fishing stories for fly fishermen who love trout fishing as I do, the book is a fine example of the printer's art, with yummy color plates of salmon flies:

Trout flies:

Lovely sketches (published back in the day when anglers didn't feel guilty for killing a mess of trout!):

And photographs:

Also of historical interest is a nice copy of Foxfire 5 (1979) edited by Eliot Wiggington, a gift from Don Kieffer, another old friend and a denizen of upstate New York. This book in the Foxfire series is devoted to "ironmaking, blacksmithing, flintlock rifles, bear hunting, and other affairs of plain living:"

It will teach you how to build a forge:

Sing a hunting song ("The Hunters of Kentucky"):

Or shoot a bear while playing a banjo and singing a hunting song:

My young friend Ben Carter is working on the other end of a major gap in my knowledge--the world of graphic literature. He started me out with Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons Watchmen (1986-87):

Although there is plenty of narrative, the graphics carry much of the story, in some cases with few or no words:

As a postmodern novel, Watchmen is a delightful alternate history of 20th century America, and I recommend it highly: an over the hill gang of Superheroes try to stop WW III while a comic-book-within-the-comicbook tells a sort of Moby Dick meets Robinson Cursoe story. Great fun, with more than its fair share of profound philosophical questions and insights.

Ben's sister, Chelsea Carter, is trying to ease me out of my William Faulkner-Thomas Pynchon-Cormac McCarthy fixation with Charles de Lint Someplace to be Flying (1998):

 As urban fantasy, Someplace to be Flying fits in perfectly with my recent interest on human animal - nonhuman animal communication. I haven't figured out yet whether the war between the Raven People and Coyote People is necessarily something that Human People ought to get involved in, but it's a great ride!

Thanks be to good friends & fine books!