Al Larson Photography

We’ve had freezing weather for several months and snow is predicted this week. Even though Winter is only half gone I’m looking foreward to Spring. This photo of blue camas was taken in May of last year just a few miles north of Ola in Gem county. May is the ideal time to take a trip to Sagehen Reservoir to see birds and wildflowers. I have been on field trips to this area nearly every year for the last forty. I have never grown tired of Nature in full bloom.

Hilda does such a wonderful job as an artist. Here she used a slab of petrified bog as a canvas. This scene shows a mournful Black Bear cub looking longingly at its mother. The cub is about to strike out on its own after being weaned and abandoned by its mother. A weasel (ermine) in winter coat looks on.

The lawn under the maple tree was a mess with leaves so I got the rake and rounded them up. Maple leaves are one of my favorites. Their cleft edges are a sight to behold. In the fall after the first freeze their colour turns to yellow, red and brown. I gave Nature a helping hand here and arranged this display.

I thought it was time to once again show some of Hilda’s artwork.  Here she put oils on a cross-cut blade. The elk and eagle seem right at home here by the lake, as do the fishermen and their camp. Notice how the crowns of the trees blend into the teeth. I think that this could grace almost any outdoor person’s mantel.

On November 2nd I took a trip to my Sage Hen Bluebird Trail. I had to clean the nest boxes out before winter should arrive. After leaving Squaw Creek and heading up the Second Fork road I came across this Autumn scene. A lot of the shrubs had shed their leaves but I thought this scene warrented a picture.

I have yet to see the engineer but the evidence is here. I don’t know if an individual is responsible or if a pair of beaver is working here.  Last year a dam was built and then aparently abandoned and washed out during high water last winter and spring. The old hut has been refurbished. There is also a hole (tunnel) leading into the bank on the right side of the pond. Our son stepped through the roof of the tunnel about fifteen feet from the water. The beaver promptly set to work covering this unwanted hole with grass and weeds. I must quietly sneak down there and see if I can observe this fellow at work.

On this cool, overcast, October morning I looked out the window at this colorful view. We may not have the entire landscape emblazened with fall color like the eastern U. S. diciduous forests, but we do have pockets of beautiful hues. Perhaps the dark evergreen background tends to enhance our western autumn colors.

With cold weather predicted in the next couple of days my thoughts returned to Spring. Last May as I reached the mouth of Daggett creek I found this chubby little fellow basking in the sun. I always like to see these guys because it means cold weather is over for the season. They come out of their dens in early Spring, eat and grow fat. By mid-summer they disappear again. They have voratious appetites and wreak havoc in nearby flower gardens and farm fields. It’s good that they stay away from my yard and keep to the rocks at the mouth of the creek.

About sunup this morning I was awakened by an elk bugle in the field. I looked out the window and there he was, a five-point bull grazing below. It’s not uncommon at this time of year to hear the “bugle” from the timber on the hill across the creek from the house. Mating time has arrived and the elk are in full “rut.” Elk are also on the move. Perhaps we’ll see a herd of them in the meadow soon.

As I approached a nestbox located on a large pine tree this fine fellow jumped up and scampered down into the brush below the road. He apparently thought he was well hidden and briefly peeked out at me from his hiding place. He soon retreated out of sight. This mule deer had been resting on the edge of the road in the shade of a huge ponderosa pine tree.