This is a common flower often seen in Wyoming - Yarrow. The white has washed together so you really cannot see the flower except maybe in the upper left corner.
Not a particulary 'showy' flower and they don't seem to take over a meadow. Just a few plants here and there.
Then we had a member of the balsamroot family but I am not sure which one. Maybe hairy balsamroot? They are a sunflower.
Then there was the delicate yellow Monkeyflower. Seems like an odd name for such a pretty little flower doesn't it?
And last and certainly not least, my favorite Wyoming flower -- Lupine. Lupine blooms briefly but 'moves' up the mountain as the spring snows melt and the weather warms. You can find whole meadows of lupine covering the entire meadow and the smell of lupine is to die for. When I die, throw some lupine over me to smell in eternity and I'm good to go!
View to the east of our lot showing a bunch of lupine.
I guess I could call this next photo, how to dress up your outhouse naturally! The lupine were all over behind it.
I took all these photos with a square of about 50 x 50 feet in five minutes. Spring on the mountain! It doesn't get much better than that in Wyoming.
And of course the humans did their favorite thing....
Built a fire in our firepit, ate, and RELAXED.
As pretty as Lupine is and as much as found in the mountains of Wyoming, what did they choose as Wyoming's state flower? This---usually found wizened and barely clinging to life, found in the mountains and on the plains, basically statewide which may be why it was chosen. The indian paintbrush --
and is rarely as colorful as this stock photo. More than fifteen varieties of Indian paintbrushes can be found in the state. This is the Wyoming Indian Paintbrush which is found statewide at all elevations.
Hopefully I got these flowers identified correctly from a lovely little book given to me by Chestine and Teri and which I have practically worn out. It's called Wildflowers of Wyoming by Diantha and Jack States. A very good identification book.
Sad news here this morning. I had eight guiena keets that hatched yesterday and this morning all are gone. Something got them overnight, maybe the other guienas? The Bull Snake? A racoon? I don't know. But I do know I will try to build a bullet proof cage in the corner for her to set her next nest and then I can lock her in and everything else OUT. She's never set in the coop before, always out in the prairie and none of those survived either. Life is not easy if you are a guiena at Sixty Miles North of Nowhere apparently.
Other news -- I am going to be retired. They are closing the office where I work and at my age, I really don't think anyone in their right mind would hire a grandma with a 60 mile commute. In some ways I look forward to it and in others, especially the financial end of it, it makes me nervous. But then I won't have all the car expenses and the take-in, convenience foods, etc. I can also garden next year and do my canning which I love to do. And Sewing......maybe I can actually REDUCE those mounds of fabrics. I am only one shopping trip from having my sewing room featured on an episode of Hoarders.......... And of course, NANA can be on 24/7 call for babysitting those grandkiddos. My FAVORITE thing to do.
Last weekend we helped build this for them.
I herded the kiddos while everyone else 'constructed' and 'cuss-structed'!! At one point they wanted a treat so I gave them each a chocolate covered ice cream cone their mother had for them. Grandson #1 doesn't like ice cream (WHO ever heard of that) but loves chocolate. So he ate all the chocolate off his ice cream and wanted another. No I told him, you have to eat all of it at which he looked at me and said, "Nana you are silly!" Yeah, I am, kid. You got me figured out.
Looks like you guys had a great time up on the mountain.
ReplyDeleteI'll bet that once you get into that retirement phase you will find yourself enjoying it.