Al Larson Photography

A few evenings ago while driving north from the Deer Flat Refuge visitor center I encountered the above scene. I never cease to be amazed at the beauty that surrounds us. Slow down and enjoy.

My family, Jim and Kelli, Pat and Wayne, Jeannie and Hilda, volunteered some yard work yesterday. They trimmed shrubs and trees and cleaned up the mess. Many hands made short work of the many hours of labor I had not been looking foreward to. Fathers Day came a month early for me this year.

Thank you, you guys!

Ah! Spring! This is the time of year when wild flowers come forth in all their beauty. Some will fade away in just a few days while others linger on for weeks. The above photo of the Dutchmans Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) is of one of the flowers that blooms briefly. A week later the bloom may have faded away. It seems to thrive in moist areas in heavy shade. A person must be at the right place at the right time to catch this early bloomer.

When we have a good snow-pack in the mountains the Corps of Army Engineers open up the original outlet gate for public view. Since this happens just one weekend a year I hastened down to the dam for a picture and to tryout my new Nikon camera. Among the many photos taken I liked this one the best.

They finally arrived. I’ve been looking for these little guys for some time now. The arrival of Lazuli Buntings is another sure sign of spring even when the weather says otherwise. The photo was taken on the evening of May 5, 2011.

It was rather cool for our field trip on the last day in April. A light skiff of snow fell a couple days earlier but the temperature stayed low and there was very little melting. On the entire trip 53 species of birds were seen but the number of individuals was down. Our group of birders were good sports and a good time was had by all.

Eleven days earlier I checked all of the bluebird boxes on this route. A couple of the boxes had completed bluebird nests. The majority of the boxes displayed some bluebird activity, if only just a few blades of grass. After that the weather turned cold and stormy. The bluebirds seemed to have lost interest and little or no progress was evident in nest building. Barely a half dozen bluebirds were seen on the day of the field trip.

I am concerned that with this delay in nesting some birds may not nest and those that do may not finish raising their first brood in time to start a second. Broods produced in late summer have to contend with high temperatures, less insect prey and increased numbers of predators. This looks to be a repeat of last year’s problems when nestling production was way down from previous years.