Skywatch #2 - Island Park - Henrys Lake

This morning I got up at 4:45 to go to Henrys Lake fishing.  It was partly cloudy and I figured the colors would be fantastic with the sunrise.  I got to the Buffalo River just as the east started to color up.  The deep blue sky with the sun reflecting off the thin clouds was a sight to behold.

Bob, Harry and Ed was already on the water and Bob in the far boat is landing a nice trout.  But the beautiful sunrise beckened me to take a few more pictures.

Here the sun is about to peek over the eastern mountains as verga (rain that does not hit the ground) forms a ray of light shooting up into the cloud.

Sawtelle Mountain stands black on the south side of the lake against the colored sky.

Even without being the first boat on the lake, the fishing was great with brook trout, hybrids and cutthroats coming regularly to my flies.  The best fly was the Light Olive Crystal with the Mity Mouse a close second.  This male 18 inch brook trout has already dawned his spawning colors.  The belly was as orange as the early morning sky.

On the way home I had to stop at Swan Lake near Last Chance to look for the Trumpeter swans, but they had gone elsewhere.

Another beautiful wild day in Idaho.

Cascade Creek and Indian Lake

The southwest corner of Yellowstone Park is known as Cascade Corner with many waterfalls and cascades as the creeks drop several hundred feet in just a few miles.  This is the home of many birds and animals during the summer, but most migrate out when the heavy weather of winter sets in.

Cascade Creek runs into the park from the bordering Targhee National Forest.  Here the creek cascades over the rock in the canyon formed by the rushing waters.

Indian Lake is a small lake near the Yellowstone border just inside the Wyoming state line.  It is home to both nesting trumpeter swan and Common Loons.  One of the few area lakes where both nest.

This area is the summer home of many birds and animals but most, like this Hairy Woodpecker, migrate out of the area when the hard winter weather sets in dropping from 10 to 20 feet of snow here.

Skywatch Friday #1

Recent harvesting of wheat and barley puts a lot of impurities in the air.  These impurities create beautiful sunsets in Southeastern Idaho.

Hollyhocks

After two days of inservice meetings and the first day of school, I needed some individual space. To my flower and veggie garden I went this evening. One of my favorite fall flowers is the hollyhock and I have many colors and variations of them. One thing I love about them is the perfect star created in the middle of the flower. My favorite color is the light pink or the salmon color. Enjoy these photos from my garden.

The bees and hummingbirds are visiting them. On the one below, I love the veins that run through the petals.
Here is a very dark one - some almost are a black.

Some of the white ones have a green star while others have a deep red star.

My grandparents and parent raised hollyhocks along the creeks and they just grew "wild." A great way to grow up.

Have a great day.