Finding Blue...On Many Levels

Hey, it is great to be alive especially with the color blue in mind. Found a mountain top site accessible by road a mere 25 miles from my front door! Target: wildflowers and butterflies on a beautiful summer day.

Maybe ELO, a Spotify embed, will get you in the mood. If not music, how about video context?



Here are some photos of Blue Copper (Lycaena heteronea), Melissa Blue (Plebejus melissa) and Boisduval's Blue (Plebejus icarioides) butterflies just below the peak in the video above:

Blue Copper

Melissa Blue

Boisduval's Blue

Hoping you are reading this on a blue Monday...or just another bluetiful day :-) Find something good.

Connecting the Wildlife Viewing Dots...What Should Be Obvious

It wasn't until yesterday that I connected the dots in finding Parnassian butterflies thanks to a Northwest Butterflies blog posting on the Gifford Pinchot NF. The author smartly included photos of the habitat visited...and there it was...steep, rocky road cuts. These areas typically are home to stonecrops (the sedum genus or succulent in general) which are the larval host plant for Parnassian butterflies. A mere fifteen minutes from my home is Blue Mountain (Lolo NF), which has windy steep road cuts in places (duh!!!!). So mid-afternoon I went on an adventure of discovery. Sure enough, as I emerged onto a south-facing straightaway I saw three white butterflies soaring Turkey Vulture-like low over the gravel road and vegetation. Quickly parked into the nearest pull-out and chased after the butterflies with camera in-hand. Never did get a "great" photo of the Rocky Mountain Parnassian (Parnassius smintheus), however did manage some diagnostic pics. As a bonus, found and photographed a White Bog Orchid (Platanthera sp.) and a Sinous Snaketail (Ophiogomphus occidentis) along ravine stream. Connect some dots today too :-)

Rocky Mountain Parnassian

Parnassian Habitat

White Bog Orchid

Sinous Snaketail

Wildflowers Blooming

Beautiful spring weather today...low 60's with clear blue skies. Main priority for wildlife watching excursion is to add bird species to month list. Recorded 93 species in 2008; starting today have only 81.  Did find 3 'monthers' this morning : Mountain Chickadee, Red-breasted and Pygmy Nuthatch. As happens often, 'things' are found outside of priorities/targets. Found 5 colorful, at times tiny in size, species of wildflower in bloom: Sagebrush Buttercup, Yellow Bell, Spring Draba, Bulbous Woodland-star and Blue-eyed Mary (photos below). It was fortuitous in finding some of them; great overview of 'mastering the art of observation' by Brain Pickings Newsletter. This time I'll claim finding them to a "connected mind" :-) Find something great!

Collinsia parviflora

Lithophragma glabrum

Ranunculus glaberrimus

Draba verna

Fritilliaria pudica