bodner044

Yesterday, I was watering my neighbor's garden, and the tree swallows were dive-bombing me in an attempt to protect the youngsters in the nesting boxes nearby.  It brought to mind our kayaking trip last July, when we floated past a large cliff wall riddled with holes made by bank swallows. Friday, July 7, 2017 - Whitefish River - 8 miles (Internet) Our son shuttled us with a put-in at Kay Beller Park and a take-out at the Highway 40 bridge.  During the 3-hour paddle, herons would lift slowly and silently from a marshy inlet to find a spot without people.  Numerous painted turtles lined up nose to tail on every available log, and were ambivalent to the yellow creature drifting past.  Only the yellow iris tucked among the still-short bulrushes, and the occasional goldfinch, could compete with the brightness of our inflatable kayak. Mid-way through our journey, we approached a curve and immediately noticed a dramatic increase in bird traffic.  And then we saw the c...

365 days ago, we were in the UK.  As I look out the window at the Montana hills, dappled with early morning sunshine, last summer truly seems a world and a lifetime away.  But the pictures in my archives hold a story begging to be written, so here I am at the computer, exhilarated to deliver Part 8 of last summer's holiday (read: vacation). This post continues my series ( Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 , Part 4 , Part 5 , Part 6 , Part 7 ) documenting our joy in guiding my sister and her husband through a small slice of the cultural delights that Northeastern England has to offer.  June 22, 2017?  Must be Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden. (I can still remember the day I first heard about Fountains Abbey - Spousal Unit RAVED about this paradise that he had visited with his parents and the kids.  Now, keep in mind that Spousal Unit is from the UK and has seen many historical sites.  So a RAVE from him really means something.) The kids at the Abbey in ...

When we moved to the country, I fully expected to encounter wildlife in all its forms, and this post is testimony to that dream, fulfilled.  And we've only been here 60 days! My trail cam is the gift that keeps on giving … like a kid on Christmas morning, I retrieve the SIM card every few days and practically jog back to the house to see what has been wandering around the 'back 40'. On May 23, the beaver(s) worked from 7.53 pm to 2.30 am as documented by the trail cam.  A couple of days later, the trail cam captured the lower right hand shot of mist rising off the lake as     the sun rises.  I call it "Swimming Home from Work".  If you read my May 23 post , you know that an active beaver pair has dammed the lake on the edge of our property.  At that time, I did not have any of my own pictures of the beaver … a situation that has now been rectified! In my six months with the trail cam, I have learned that it can capture changes in the environment in add...