August 18, 2008

HUCKLEBERRY BONANZA
by Adam Lieberg

This past week has been another beauty here in the Swan; alpine wildflowers are in full bloom, there are more huckleberries in the mountains than you can shake a stick at, and a full moon lit up the valley the other night.

You know the pickin’s pretty good when you're grabbing huckleberries two at a time	And you know you’re in an evne better spot when you can grab ‘em three at a time

Tom and John Warren Parker enjoyed an evening huckleberry picking on this un-named mountain near this creek with no name….if you know what I’m talking about.  Watch out bears 'cause this kid is a natural….he just didn’t quite get the whole putting them in the bucket part.

WILDFLOWERS, WILDLIFE, AND BUGS

Avalanche slopes in the Mission Mountains are going crazy with alpine wildflowers. Below are a few pictures of some of my favorite wildflowers. Also included are some wildlife and insect photos taken around the valley this past week.

		< < Explorer’s Gentian
>> Leafy Aster
		<< Fireweed
>> Fringed Grass-of-Parnassus accompanied by a pollinator.
		<< Indian Paintbrush
>> Sweat Vetch
		<< Cow-Parsnip
>> This is a picture of an ant guarding a colony of aphids on an Indian Hellebore plant.  Aphids excrete a sugary “honey-dew” waste that ants and other insects key into; in return the ants provide protection to the colony from other insect predators.
		<< Northern Blue Butterfly
>> Fritillary sp. Butterfly
		<< I have noticed that California Tortoiseshells have shown up in numbers this year.  This particular butterfly can be rare some years while experiencing population irruptions others.  Not sure what category this year fits into, but I suspect it might be an irruption year.
>> Columbia Spotted Frog at No Name Lake in Mission Mountain Wilderness
		<< In addition to the usual Pine Siskins and Red Crossbills that frequent the homestead, White-Winged Crossbills, a more rare species, have shown up lately.
>> Hot weather has brought the water level down on the Swan River exposing a beaver lodge entrance made during the floods earlier this summer.
		<< Due in part to the webbing on their hind feet and the tracking substrate, some beaver tracks only show the large blunt nails of the hind foot.
>> I thought it was a little strange when I came upon what I thought was a Robin nest up on Cold Mountain, so I decided to sit tight and wait for one of the parents to return. A few minutes later a Swanson’s Thrush landed on the nest….makes sense now that I think about it.
		<< Still haven’t seen a Grizzly Bear yet this year, however I did come upon a set of smoking-fresh tracks while on a jog the other morning. (photo courtesy of Erika Edgley)

RUSTIC FURNITURE

My older sister Amy and her boyfriend Herve recently tied the knot, so I coaxed Erika into helping me make them a rustic loveseat out of small diameter lodgepole pine from around the homestead.  Thanks to the knowledge and inspiration passed down from my woodworking mentor Steve Lamar and some last minute help from my handy dad Eric, it turned out pretty good.  Congratulations Amy and Herve!!

FULL MOON OVER THE SWAN RANGE

On Saturday evening a full moon rose over the Swan Range while the sun was still setting behind the Mission Mountains. So I went up into the mountains to get some views and take some pictures….the only problem was choosing which direction to look.