Nighttime in the Desert

We saw some intriguing and beautiful flowers in the Utah desert. It was a wetter spring than most recent years so the colors were incredible, like in this cactus bloom!

The intriguing flowers were part of the "Four O'Clock Family", which includes flowers that close during the day to preserve moisture and open at night. Here was one example. It looked like a cluster of little white balls during the day.

As the sun was setting...

... and I was taking sunset photos of Shyla...

 ... the little balls were opening up so that they could be pollinated by Sphinx Moths. The blossoms were gorgeous, especially with the dark background. It was hard to believe that this was the same plant as I'd seen during the day!

Another flower in that family was called the "Showy Four O'Clock Flower". It was closed during the heat of the day. This photo was just as it was closing in the morning.

Then, around sunset, the "showy" blossoms opened in all their glory!

It's a flower that needs lots of rain to flourish so we haven't seen it in recent years.

So, on those moonlit nights when the stars spun around the North Star, flowers were blooming under the incredible desert sky.

I found the Four O'Clock flowers to be gloriously beautiful and fascinating!!! What a cool trick for surviving in the dry and hot climate of the desert!



Today, I am joining Dory's Flower Blog Hop!

Springtime and Bear Families

Since we've returned from the desert, we've been settling into spring/summer life. Our world feels as if it was transformed while we were gone. When we left, there were about 20" of heavy snow on the ground. When we returned, the snow had all melted, the aspen trees had green leaves, and many flowers were blooming!

Shyla and I can take long mountain bike rides without running into snow drifts as long as we don't go too high in the mountains.

We've been lingering atop Hug Hill on many mornings, sometimes playing fetch there. Hug Hill is a very cold place in the winter but wonderful in the summer.

The black bears became very active while we were away. I discovered that both bear families that we followed last year had broken up. The mothers have sent away their young that were born almost 1.5 years ago so that they can mate again. I felt quite sad that I hadn't captured any photos of the families early this spring before they broke up for mating season.

My first hint that the families had broken up was that Cinnamom passed one of my cameras without any cubs in tow.

As usual, she curiously sniffed my camera but left it intact.

Many hours later, a yearling cub appeared. I believe that this was Cinnamom's cinnamon colored cub from last year. She's turning blacker with time, especially her legs and back. She reminds me of Socks, a young bear who is still in the area and approaching full adulthood.

She approached the camera...

Gave it a "look"... (the trail camera switched over to nighttime mode for some reason).

And then "she" stood up in front of it. This photo is how I know that she is a female. Female cubs are allowed to stay in or close to their mother's territory for their lifetimes. In contrast, male cubs have to travel, sometimes long distances, to find a niche where they can live.

Hours later, Tiny, our biggest male bear, came along, probably following Cinnamom's trail from many hours earlier because it's mating season. Look how hulking he is compared to the yearling cub.

Back to the cub, I captured more photos of the cub a short distance away. Look at how she stands up to sniff a bear tree that has been marked by many bears over the years.

She looked a little funny as she maneuvered on her hind legs.

Then, the approach of another bear spooked her. She was gone in a flash.

This was the other bear, probably Tiny but I'm not certain. He arrived only minutes after the yearling cub departed.

Tiny has been marking that tree almost daily. Compare his size to the yearling cub's size. It's easy to see why the cub fled when she heard or smelled a full-grown bear approaching.

I love his antics to spread his scent on as much of the tree as possible. He grabs branches and rubs them on his head.

So, in every way, spring/summer is upon us. I love this time of year - it's so full of promise of an amazing few months ahead of us. But, of all the months, I love June the most because the bear activity is so intriguing.

Each day is a gift

Every day is a gift.

Time with Duo together.

Time with K on her own.

Time playing in the snow drifts that still inhabit our north-facing slopes.

When K was diagnosed with the evil C, I wished with all my heart to have one more springtime with her. Usually, spring doesn't truly begin in the mountains until June. We get big snowstorms in March through May. But, we've had spring weather very early this year. We'll pay a price later with fire danger but I do enjoy being out in the sunshine and warmth with my girl.

We saw blossoms today, some that we usually don't see until a month from now.

I hope that they can survive being buried in snow, because it's sure to happen at least once more!

In the meantime, we will all enjoy this glorious weather and give thanks for the gift of each day together.

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Flowers that emerged from under the snow.

The Duo in the meadow near sunset.

They spotted their dog-friend on the edge of the meadow and sprinted over to PLAY.

After playing with their friend, we went to see the sunset.

Cats in the night

In the middle of the night, a mountain lion moved stealthily through our forest.

He was moving briskly and his image blurred.

I think that he/she is a different lion from the one who recently walked up and down a nearby gully for more than a week, probably circling a carcass that he/she was eating. Last night's lion had a different type of radio/GPS collar than the previous lion. I think that both of these lions were females because they left no scrapes. Males tend to scrape and urinate all along their routes to mark their territory.

In the darkness of night, it's primarily our cats who are active, yet this bobcat most definitely did not want to meet the mountain lion. A lion will kill and eat a bobcat.

In the sunlight of daytime, I've been enjoying the fluttering of butterflies among the brightly colored wildflowers. What a contrast from the mountain lion and bobcat photos.

Locoweed (Oxytropis lambertti) seems to attract butterflies more than any other flower.

Locoweed is dominating our meadow presently, and the Duo love sprinting through it.

Since K's toe amputation, R always wins the races. But, they both have fun!

R is at the tiptop of his physical prime. Watching him glide and leap through the meadows and forest is like watching a ballet.

It has stormed almost every evening for a week. K's fur glowed in ray of sunshine with storm clouds behind her.

After posing, she beseeched me to give her some treats.

Time to head home before another big thunder storm at the end of a summer day.