Yesterday, I took my Segway and went down Red Rock road about 4 miles west to a meadow (pasture) along Duck Creek to see if any more wildflowers than those I've found next to RedRock RV Park had matured. Last year this spot yielded large numbers of Indian Paintbrush. I could see them growing, but they were not with their characteristic bright red or orange color yet. Most of the flowers I encountered along the way and at the meadow were the Glacier Lily. There were full fields of them in places. I spotted a couple Vase Flower specimens and a couple Shooting Stars.

A couple bright gold Dandelions were growing next to the creek. Soon these will be everywhere, creating fields of beautiful yellow.






Close to the creek were numerous willows, staple food for Moose. Interesting was the varied male and female catkins growing at the tips of the williows (the male ones are called pussywillows. Here's another photo I took without the flowers.) The male plants have tiny yellow flowers on the catkins. The willows are dioecious, meaning that the female and male parts are on separate plants. (Here's a site that gives you blow by blow photographic analysis of the development of the male pussywillow. Very nice photos.) This time of year the willows stems are bright orange or red and contrast nicely with the snows that often pile around them.

I heard from a camper that the Spooting Star was in full bloom in large areas near the Continental Divide along Red Rock Road. I will investigate that for myself in the next days.

I have found that there are periods in which several new species of wildflower start blooming at once and then there will be a quiet period where those in bloom will continue to mature before any other new ones pop up. For meadow #1, I think we are in the quiet period. I use those periods to find especially beautiful specimens of wildflowers I've previously found to photograph for their pure and simple beauty.

This morning we walked through Meadow #1 and found mostly maturing flowers that I had already found. Most notable and beautiful was a single specimen of the Arrowleaf Balsamroot that had fully opened.


I expected to see the Spring Beauty in full bloom, but instead I saw many specimens but none were fully open. I wasn't exactly sure if that was because it was early morning. I'll find out later.

On my way out of meadow #1, I discovered the Meadow Rue starting to bloom (so to speak, since they really don't have petals.) I couldn't tell at this stage whether it was a male or female plant.





I walked up the path to the forest across from the RV park this afternoon expecting to find only the Glacier Lily blooming (as it is throughout the forest now.) On my way out I discovered the small plant Fairy Bells (Disporum). It's beautiful bell-shaped white bloom occurs mostly in pairs. It was growing under a douglas fir tree and there were several specimens. Soon I'll find this in meadow #1 as well.

Please come visit us soon, as the wildflower profusion will be here before you know it and you will have missed out on it. (Except if you read this blog.)

To complete the day, I found this American Goldfinch on the ground under my feeder at the RV Park. He came last year too (I assume it's the same one.) I've never seen more than one around here at the same time.