Last year the Wyoming headlines read: “North Platte River reaches record high at Saratoga” “Platte River floods still threaten; half of record snow pack has yet to melt” “North Platte River Flooding 2011” “Planning, weather help Casper avoid flooding” “River keeps rising” “Casper preparing for high water levels” And this year, in the recent headlines…
Category: Wyoming, general
Horton Hears a Who
I count three kinds of insects doing their job in this Mariposa Lily, or Calochortus nuttallii. A small, beautiful world. Click on a photo to see it at higher resolution.
Ready for Take Off
These seeds are ready for take off. As kids we all enjoyed the Dandelions in the yard. How magical it was to blow on the seed heads and watch the little parachutes take flight. As an adult I am amazed at the perfection of design of this family of flowers commonly called Composites, of the…
Penstemons I Have Known
In my last post I documented a few Penstemons I have successfully grown in my home landscape. As I hike the local area I have come across some other Penstemon species native to Central Wyoming and the Bighorn Mountains. I’d like to share a few photos. The Penstemon genus is quite varied, but the tubular…
April Showers in Wyoming
At 5000 plus feet, April showers often come in heavy white crystalline form. This may be our last snow of the season, so I took a quick dash out to get a shot of the mountain as the clouds were lifting. Spring snows are very important to the ecology of Wyoming. The snows of Feb-April…
Native Flowering Shrub for Western Landscapes
Fellow western blogger Big Sky Ken, made a stop at Ayers Natural Bridge and posted his photos. The post reminded me of my stop there in July when the Holodiscus dumosus was in full bloom. Ocean Spray is a native Wyoming shrub that deserves much more attention and development for the landscaping market. It is…
Troubadour of Spring
It’s usually around the 15th of March that I hear my first Western Meadowlark of the year. The bright yellow male bird is often seen sitting on a fence post singing his song of spring. It’s a lovely sound, described as watery, warbly, flute-like. Some say the Meadowlark is crying, “Please pass the salt and…
Saint Patricks Trivia and Gardening in the West
A very successful non-native species often seen in Wyoming and arid gardens is Artemisia ‘Powis Castle.’ It probably originated in the Mediterranean region, but it became popular when it was planted at Powis Castle in Wales, Wales being one of the leading best guesses for the birth place of St. Patrick. Powis Castle is a…
No Awards for Originality
Ok, I know. It’s the ubiquitous spring Crocus photo, but I couldn’t resist. I know I won’t win any awards for originality, but it’s such a comforting site, knowing that the growing season is coming. Our winters are long here in Wyoming, and the March warm up is a welcome reminder that God has set…
National Elk Refuge in Jackson, Wyoming
Although I’ve been through Jackson Hole multiple times, I’ve never visited the National Elk Refuge just north of town. The National Elk Refuge is one of 553 refuges managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. There is good evidence that elk once ranged all across North America, inhabiting forests, river valleys, the prairies and…
Doomsday Wyoming Style
Well, there’s been a lot of hoopla in the media the last few days due to a bill introduced in the Wyoming State Legislature. I don’t know why, that at this stage in my life, I should be surprised by the kind of reporting and commenting I came across as I tried to find out…
Addicted to the Glide
If you want to get addicted to cross country skiing, go out early in the morning, after a fresh snowfall, before anyone else is on the trails.
Wyoming Life 