Found this beautiful fuzzy little moth warming up in the morning sun up near timberline while hiking on a cool summer morning. All that fuzz must help keep her and perhaps her little ant friend warm through the night.
Tag: ecology
Calliope and Columbine
A male Calliope Hummingbird measuring in at a mere 3 inches visiting a Sitka Columbine.
Two of summers treats rolled into a single meal .
Wood Nymph
A Wood Nymph Butterfly taking a break in the shade on a warm summer afternoon.
The exact species I hesitate to take a guess on so if anyone can help out it would be appreciated.
Layered Lands
From marsh shrubs to sagebrush to pine forest to snow-covered peaks. A wide open landscape sure helps bring peace and quiet to a busy brain. Looking out from the marshlands at Red Rocks National Wildlife Refuge in Montana.
Striped Coralroot: Corallorhiza striata
Hidden deep in the forest, or happily saying hello in small forest clearings, this spring has brought an abundance of Striped Coralroot:Corallorhiza striata.
Corallorhiza striata is mycohetertrophic and uses fungus to provide nutrients for its own growth as Corallorhiza does not photosynthesize.
This orchid was just pushing up through the soil in a small clearing in the forest covered with grass.
Others were hidden in the dense undergrowth in the forest.
While many we found grew as single stalks or in groups of two or three some grew in larger clusters.
Corallorhiza striata is found in a wide geographical range encompassing all of Canada and most of the western United States and prefers cooler climates.
According to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center “After producing flower stalks, the rhizomes may remain dormant for several years so seeing them in bloom may not occurs again next year but I sure hope so.
Monday Moose
A cool drink of water and warm sunrise. Not a bad start to the week for this male moose just growing this years antlers.
Happy Monday and have a great week.
Free
A Raven soars below as we walk above.
Freedom to roam is freedom indeed.
Rain, rain…
A female Cassin’s Finch finds ample shelter under a large spruce on a recent rain-soaked afternoon.
A quick look up and …hey the sky looks lighter to the west.
Yellow Rumped (Audobons) Warbler
Nothing like the sound and the all to uncommon sight of a male Audobons Warbler on a cool overcast afternoon. All to often this bird spends most of its time up high in the canopy of the spruce trees in our area so it was nice to see him down low that afternoon.
Chocolate Lily
This year we have been lucky to find several of these wonderful Chocolate Lilies blooming on the trails nearby. I am a bit up in the air as to the specific species as two reliable websites list the chocolate lily as two species one being Fritillaria affinis var. affinis and the other lists the plant as Fritillaria atropurpurea.
The plant is fairly inconspicuous and without the flower not very showy at all. It is a beautiful plant and we were glad to come across it as according to Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center database it is one that frequently takes years off from flowering.
nature has no boss 
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