Al Larson Photography

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.

 We have had a lot of rain recently. Saturday morning, early, there was a down-pour. This photo shows Mores Creek mid-morning. It looks like tons of sediment are being washed downstream. Dunnigan Creek is at the upper right hand side. The rains have made the vegetation lush and green.

It’s that time of year again when Autumn colors burst forth in all their beauty. This year, however, has been an exception. It seems as though most of the deciduous leaves dried  at the first frost and withered away. After several periods of rain some trees and shrubs that had not yet lost their foliage began to turn to typical Fall colors.

This small cluster of shrubs situated on a barren dry hillside prompted me to break out the camera and fire away. It was several hundred yards away so I cranked up the zoom to about 370 mm. It almost looks like a large bouquet of flowers

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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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.