Rex Trulove
End point
Anyway, this is where we ended up. I didn't get to take pictures of three bald eagles that were busy fishing, but all in all, this was an exceptionally wonderful and blessed day. It is so nice to be able to get away now and then, even though we weren't very far from home.
It is amazing that even with the destruction caused by wildfire, there is always beauty, scenery, and abundant wildlife here in Montana. People sometimes wonder why I tend to be upbeat most of the time. This is the reason why.
Lovely, almost like being there only without getting scratched or bit.
We didn’t get scratched or bit either. :))
Thank you for taking me along on this journey. Wonderful photos and nice to know that if you know what to look for nature will provide.
The great thing is that ‘knowing what to look for’ is easily learned. There are so many wild foods out there that it is a shame that people don’t make an effort to learn to identify them.
What a wonderful journey you took us on. Unknown territory for me.
I need to get out more often!
It is one of the many things I love about Montana. There is a lot to see, and a person doesn’t need to go far to see wonders.
Carol DM, since I’m unable to respond to your individual comments, I’ll do it this way:
I wrote an article about thimbleberries a week or two ago. Little did I know that we’d be picking them when we went after huckleberries.
Feverfew is a member of the daisy family, so they do look like daisies.
I agree that the views are amazing and the pictures really don’t do justice to them.
The heat is pretty normal for hear. Our year has actually been cooler and wetter than normal, and the heat was late in arriving, but when it finally got hot, it stayed that way. It usually gets hot here in mid-June. This year, it was mid-July.
I thought I’d written about fireweed, but I can’t find the article. It is a gorgeous flower and it is a survival food.
Chokecherries are very tart and they have ‘pucker-power’. The name comes from that fact. They aren’t something you want to eat like sweet cherries are. They are also mostly seeds, but what little flesh there is makes an exceptional jelly. There are lots of them growing wild here.
I was sort of surprised by the amount of wild garlic we saw. It was all over the high country and it was also plentiful in the low country near the river. I definitely enjoy chewing on it while relaxing.
Bighorns are wild sheep. The males are rams, the females are ewes, and the babies are lambs. In size, they are about the same height and length as a mule deer, but they are much stockier and outweigh deer. I thought I’d written about bighorns, too, but perhaps not.
Ah wow Rex. What a view from up there! Looks kind of like good ole CA with just the ponderosas left. It will rebuild as you well know.. just takes time. I don’t have to tell you the good and the bad of forest fires now do I! I loved this post, it gave me a chance to go with you! More please!! I bet the dogs had a blast!
Yes, fire takes a huge toll and yes, it is also positive. In 10-20 years, the signs of that fire will be faint and the hills in this area will once again be forested, though it will be a young forest. The alder seedlings are about a foot tall now, but in a couple decades, they will be mature trees and will be giving way to fir and spruce. There are a few isolated pockets where the fire ‘missed’ and these will reseed the area. A new forest will be born and young forest supports a far larger plant and animal diversity than old forests do.
The day was more for the dogs than for us. Only one of the four dogs is a big dog; my son-in-law’s black lab. That dog loves to run. She’ll get out and pace the car at about 20 mph, for several miles. She had the chance to do that. Then when we got down to the river, I tossed pine cones into the river for her to retrieve. She didn’t want to stop doing it and I had to finally tell her no. By then, she was nearly exhausted, literally. By the time we got home, she was so tired that she couldn’t even lift her tail to wag it.
All the dogs are still tired today and I suspect that even the little dogs are sore from all the walking we did. I’m really glad we took the outing. I’ll see what I can do about posting more picture galleries. :))
I was thinking about that the other day when we went up to Palomar Mountain looking at all the old forest that got damaged. I wish it didnt take as long to regrow. Sighs..
Awe, now Meika would LOVE to do that. Sadly unless we go to the desert she can’t, there just isnt a good place to do that here by the beach area. I would have 100 calls made about this behavior to the Humane Society, “Green Car reported dropping a dog off at the intersection of so n so. Poor dogs trying to catch up to the car and the lady just keeps driving!” Anyway, sounds like a great outing.
Around here, nobody would say a thing, as long as there was no real abuse involved. Shady loves to run. It would be more abusive to never take her on runs. I know that there are busy-bodies who don’t know better and who have never thought it out. There might even be some who’d try to say that tossing pine cones into the water was an attempt to drown the animal. Never mind that the breed was specifically bred for the water.
When we get out where Shady knows that she can run, she’ll actually race around and around the car, talking the whole time, then make a number of fake runs up the road, before coming back and again saying, “Please!” We also let her tell us when she’s tired and wants back into the car.
I used to do that for my dog when I lived in Arkansas. He loved it and would do the same thing. lol
They are so smart. Sometimes smarter than us!
I’m sorry about the fire that ruined this beautiful nature. You are truly blessed with all this beautiful fruitage of nature.
I agree and it is a reason that I love the area around here.