Al Larson Photography

Exploring the deserts of Idaho will give a person a different perspective on what is often called a “barren waste.” Beauty lies at your feet in the spring with nearly every step. Here we have the beautiful Bitterroot (Lewisia rediviva). The leaves of this plant appear quite early in the season but wither away as it bursts into bloom. It looks like the blossoms rise directly from the soil.

Fourth  of July is the time to display patriotic colors. With the cooperation of our favorite bird we find here the red, white and blue. Mr. Mountain Bluebird helps us celebrate the Fourth.

Keep your camera at the ready and capture moments like this. When you are out and about you never know what you will find. How many times have you heard, “Oh rats! I left my camera in the car?”

High in the Owyhee mountains at this time of year, especialliy after a wet spring, we occasionally come across a beautiful flower garden. Many species of flowers are in bloom. Here we have Lupine and Indian Paintbrush. In the distance we see the Snake river plain.

I’ve heard many times from people traveling through southern Idaho that it is only sagebrush and lava rock. They would tell a different story if they would  get off of the beaten track and open their eyes.

Summer has been put to rest and we begin the Autumn season. Most of the flowers have blossomed and withered away. An early frost has taken its toll on the tender annuals. When one thinks that the show is over up pops this beautiful fall crocus. The spring growth of this lovely plant withers away and it lies dormant during the summer. Then when fall approaches we are suddenly treated with this  colorful display.

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One never knows what will turn up next.  If we keep our eys open there will always be something of interest. Here we have a daisy lingering on after others of its kind have withered away. Also a wasp of some kind has come to pay a visit. Is it looking for nectar, other smaller insects, or is it just smelling the daisy?

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Here is a photo taken July 20, 2009. This is a Dwarf Monkey Flower (Mimulus nanus). This is the first time that I have seen this species growing  as a rather tall plant. The cluster stands about 5 inches high. Maybe I have misnamed it.

I had seen several beds of this species in various other places earlier this summer but each flourescence was on a single stalk and barely an inch above the ground.  Actually this plant and several others were growing on the same site as the low growing variety that matured and withered several weeks earlier.

I would welcome comments regarding the name of this plant.

I traveled out into the Owyhee mountains a couple of days ago. The wild flowers were putting on their annual extravaganza. I always get excited when I see a bed of bitterrot. This flower seems to prefer dry rocky soil. It’s a wonder that it survives the extreme heat of the summer and cold of the winter. The scant foliage seems hardly enough to extract sufficient energy from the sun and atmosphere to support this beautiful blossom. Each flower in this photo measures approximately two inches across.

I wandered lonely as a Cloud
That floats on high o’er Vales and Hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd
A host of dancing Daffodils;
Along the Lake, beneath the trees,
Ten thousand dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced,
but they Outdid the sparkling waves in glee:
A Poet could not but be gay
In such a jocund company:
I gaz’d—and gaz’d—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude,
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the Daffodils.
  By William Wadsworth

  I’m looking ahead again. Our snow showers have turned to rain which means spring is upon us. Soon the sun will warm the earth and Nature’s gardens will burst forth in all their glory. This post’s photo was taken a couple years ago in Little Sage Hen Basin, in gem county. The full name of this flower is Shootingstar (Dodecatheon pauciflorum).

I like to get down on the same level with my subjects. That way I can show the surrounding habitat. Here we have an open grassy meadow surrounded with a dense forest. We even get a portion of the sky. In this case, although we can hardly see them, there are patches of shootingstars and other wild flowers across the entire meadow.

With all of these storms and cold weather lately my thoughts jump forward to “Spring weather.” While browsing through some of my warm weather photos I came across this one of a Bitterroot taken June 9, 2004. This is one of the beautiful flowers that flourish in remote, dry, rocky areas. It first sends out sparse foliage low to the ground. When the buds appear the foliage wilts away. Buds mature and blooms burst out in brilliant florescence. The bloom seems to have no stem. Each blossom appears directly from the ground.