Skywatch Friday: Stormy Idaho Skies

On a trip a few hours West to visit friends in Idaho last week, we encountered a cold front on Monida Pass (between Montana and Idaho). Low clouds pressed down on the hills:

The afternoon sun rapidly built up towering thunderheads:

Whatever goes up, must come down--by the time we got to the Snake River Plain, rain poured forth:

On our homeward journey over Monida Pass, fresh snow blanketed the hills:

Life in Recovery: Spring Wildflowers in Butte America

The environment in and around Butte, Montana, suffered from a century of copper mining and smelting, when the Anaconda Copper Mining Company used the environment as free garbage dump. In my 20 years as a resident of this little city of the northern Rocky Mountains, I have watched the environment recover. Sometimes, as with Silver Bow Creek, this is because of massive (and expensive) Superfund remedy (clean up) and restoration work. Other times, as with the hills around my home in Walkerville (an old town on the hill above Butte), it is "natural" recovery, as grasses, forbs, sagebrush and other shrubs, and trees reclaim the landscape.

Some plants are native and compete handily with the invasive Russian Knapweed that covers much of the land. Among my favorites is the aptly named and very beautiful Fuzzytongue Penstemon (Penstemon eriantherus):

Though highly toxic, Crazyweed flowers are equally elegant (Oxtropis campestris or O. sericea):

Silverleaf Phacelia (Phacelia hastata) is among the hardiest of our colonizing plants, growing even on otherwise barren mine waste:

It's nickname, "Scorpionweed," belies the flowers' appearance:

Longleaf Phlox (Phlox longifolia) is also remarkably hardy, sprouting from disturbed soil:

At a distance, even walking past and looking down at your feet, Mountain Sorel (Rumex paucifolius) doesn't look like much. But get down close, and the tiny red flowers will brighten your world:

Along roadsides, Wild Blue Flax (Linum perenne) has become common the past few years:

Some exotic (i.e. introduced) species are more welcome than others. Though the fruit is small and many years does not set at all, a fair number of wild apple trees brighten up the Butte Hill:

The leaves of the Bitterroot (Lewisia rediviva), our state flower, are dying back:

And the plants are pumping their energy from the fleshy root to flower buds:

Many years, our Bitterroots are not in full bloom until early July. By the looks of the buds this year, however, we might see the flowers earlier this year. Stay posted!

Karina Patch, New American Citizen

About 15 years ago, my friend and former student Brent Patch (Env Eng '94) headed down to Mexico. He fell in love with a beautiful young woman, and after another trip or two south they married, settled in the states, and began a family. Karina became very interested in last year's presidential election and that, among other reasons, motivated her to obtain U.S. citizenship.

Honored to attend the ceremony, Mrs ER and I drove over to the Pocatello, Idaho, area where Brent & Karina live, and joined them for the trek to Boise next day. Here's a nervous Karina with her son Adler and daughter Kenia, just before the ceremony:

Like all things governmental, the process began with paperwork for Karina and the other new citizens from all over the globe:

This was followed by a speech that reminded Mrs ER of our own pride and ownership in this marvellous country, and of what citizenship must have meant to our own immigrant ancestors from Italy (Mrs ER) and Ireland (ER):

The oath of allegiance further affirmed the obligations that accompany our grand freedoms:
"I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God."

After the oath, the President of the United States said a few words (via a recording), recalling his own experience with the promise of America, where any child can grow up, work hard, and become President:

Karina with her happy family:

Back home in Chubbuck, a party was held in Karina's honor. Naturally, gifts included things like stars & stripes table runners and an apple pie:

Congratulations, Karina!

Ain't That America...: Chubbuck/Pocatello, Idaho

"Ain't that America," the song by John Mellencamp says it all (click link to hear it).

Following our friend Karina's U.S. Citizenship ceremony in Boise, Idaho, I took a walk around her neighborhood in Chubbuck/Pocatello. As this robin will attest (check out that fat worm), this is Easy Street, USA:

Home of the brave, land of the free, a place where you can keep junk in the front yard:

And even the mailbox has to run to keep up with the pace of things (looks like Mr. Mailbox is a favorite for the dogs, though!):

When in Rome (or Chubbuck), do as the Romans (Chubbuckers?) do. Uh, OK, I guess:

A Crappy Bus Stop Bench in Boise Idaho

Next time your kids ask you why they need to complete college and find a career, show them this:

Skywatch Friday: Montana's June Rainy Season

In the old days, when Butte America (aka Butte, Montana) was a mining town, the miners sat in the bars, drank their Shawn O'Farrells, and bet on how many days it would rain in June. Usually, 29 or 30 (out of 31) won the pool. Since Global Warming, much of the rain has shifted to May, and we don't get so much of it. Still, there's nothing like a cold front that lowers the temperature from 80 deg F to 40 deg F in a few hours to remind you that it's Springtime in the Rockies:

Come July, we'll go weeks or months and barely see a cloud dot the brilliant blue skies, so we'll take all the rain we can get right now. It greens up the hills for all the hungry creatures, like this Bighorn Sheep (framed by the mountains of the Pintler Wilderness):

And it makes for gorgeous sunsets (this is a view to the Northeast, not the West!):

Spring Campout: Trout, Big Horn Sheep, Elk, Wildflowers

We had MollieThe(New)Dog for a whole week, so it was time to get out for a little overnight camping. Pretty simple, really--toss some gear in the back of the pickup, drive a half-hour from Butte America to a spot with a good view & a trout stream, and set up next to the road for the night.

It's a little canyon where a creek veers away from a secondary highway. After dark, just one vehicle passed (only in Montana). Here's a view of the cliffs on one side [click to enlarge this and all photos]:

And the steep scree leading up to a forested ridge on the other:

Though a small stream you can jump across in August, it's roaring high with spring snowmelt. Here's MollyTheDog next to one of several beaver dams:

The beaver dams keep the water relatively clear and allow it to warm, so the trout were taking nymphs. Lovely rainbow trout run up from the Big Hole River to spawn:

And plump brook trout are abundant and make for a tasty supper:

In the meadows along the stream, the first Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana) blooms:

Also a somewhat rare flower in this area, False Strawberry (Hesperochiron californicus):

And another "false" [?] flower, the False Dandelion (Agoseris glauca):

The day had been sunny, bright, and warm, but late afternoon cloud cover and a thundershower made for good fishing (you can see the sheets of rain sweeping across the valley):

The evening cleared just in time for a good meal over an open fire, and we were treated to a gorgeous sunset (this view is looking northeast, not west!):

Dave & JackTheDog met me for a hike the next morning. Here's two new friends, JTD and MTD, on a patch of old snow:

We hiked up a rather dry, rocky ridge with a southern and western exposure. We were suprised to see Bighorn Sheep here, a good 15 miles from their nearest "usual" location:

LOTS of wildflowers, although my low camera battery made focusing unreliable, so no pics of the Bluebells, Larkspur, Lupines, or Yellow Bells. But some pics did come out, including this Arrowleaf Balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata):

Ballhead Phacelia (Hydrophyllum capitatum):

Nuttalls Violet (Viola nuttali):

Longleaf Phlox (Phlox longifolia):

Some species of Saxifrage (Saxifraga spp), I think--at first I thought it was Death Camas, but the leaves are too rounded [if anyone knows this plant, please tell me!]:

And one of our tiniest wildflowers (just 1/4" long), Blue Eyed Mary (Collinsia parviflora):

In a wetter meadow, there was some species of Cinquefoil (Potentilla spp) [if anyone knows the species, please tell me!]:

And Prairie Smoke (Geum trifolium; flower buds not quite open yet):

There were also many, many elk. We ran into them at every turn, even though we were talking loudly and kept whistling to keep the dogs close. How many elk can you spot in this fuzzy photo?:

We spotted the first spotted elk calf of the season, standing with the mother cow in a patch of lodgepole pine. I did not get a photo, as we quickly steered the dogs away so as not to disturb mother. In a week or so, the calves will be big (and fast) enough to travel with the mother cows in open meadow feeding areas. Stay posted!