In fields wet with moisture the wild iris are blooming like crazy this year. It is amazing how some years there are so few but when it rains more than usual they explode. They bloom for a few days then dry up and quickly disappear. Nature playing hide and seek.
Just for fun another basket of spring wildflower rendered in monochrome.
Enjoy.
While checking out the Coneflowers the other day we came across this really cool insect called an Assassin bug.
At one point we found them stalking prey in their world of flowers. The other insect noticed the Assassin on their trail and quickly hopped away avoiding becoming a meal.
Assassin Bugs are ambush hunters that use their long rostrum to inject digestive enzymes into their prey. Their bite is said to be quite painful yet without long term consequences.
So from now on I will be keeping my eyes open and hands a safe distance from this guys home in the coneflowers as summer carries on.
One of our favorite wildflower is Prairie Smoke (Geum triflorum). Gazing into a field of these flowers is like watching a full on action movie yet motion is only implied.
Our annual photographic homage to one of our favorite spring flowers the Glacier Lilly.
We follow their progressive blooming form the edge of the foothills up high in the mountains seemingly ushering in spring in each progressive life zone.
Beautiful from afar…
as well as up close.
On a recent walk through sagebrush scrub and grassland we were treated to numerous hidden gems along the way. Lupines flowering amongst the grasses still mainly brown after a winters sleep.
Shooting stars in clusters were dispersed along the way. Never a thick carpet, just a sprinkling, every now and then.
Bluebells dangled in little clumps…
and Penstemon light the way.
Hidden gems indeed.
A dose of afternoon sunlight brings out the best of things, these leaves included.
Light, leaves and color create a feeling as well as a sight.
Hope your weekend includes a bit of both.
Happy Friday and have a wonderful weekend.
Just the grass greening up in a landscape filled with sage and juniper. Quiet, perhaps the sounds of Meadowlarks and Sparrows singing, an unassuming landscape in a quiet place.
Yet upon closer inspection we were provided with quite a treat. Chocolate Lily – Fritillaria atropurpurea were hidden in theses still greening grasses.
Some were on full display and added a a wonderful splash of color and gave us quite a surprise on what we thought would be a unassuming walk through an early spring landscape.
It’s nice to have no assumptions.
References:
1.http://fieldguide.mt.gov/speciesDetail.aspx?elcode=PMLIL0V020
Yellow Fritillary (Fritillaria pudica), just about 4 inches tall, but oh what a way to ring in the weekend.
Wishing you a fine day and wonderful weekend.
Identical no less with matching fur coats for those crisp spring mornings.
