As a follow-on to my Sunflowers post for last week's SkyWatch Friday, here are some more scenes from an early morning hike along that same gravel pit road last month.
Temps that week were in the upper 90's, so we headed out early hoping (in vain, as it turned out) to beat the heat. At least we were treated to an interesting sunrise, courtesy of smoke from a host of fires in MT, ID and WY, and those storm clouds that promised rain but didn't deliver...
If you click on the photo for a larger version,
you'll see BW and a patch of sunflowers.
Josie surveys an impressive irrigation ditch that winds through the valley below, with the town of Sheridan beyond in the hazy distance to the northeast...
Two views from the same spot, but facing N/NW...
While we were busy watching the sky, someone else was busy watching us!...
See more skies the world over at
Beautiful set of pictures, loved the second one a lot.
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous place to live!
ReplyDeleteJane x
The fires I’ve been hearing about are beyond frightening. Hopefully, rain will soon fall in these overly dry regions. Love that last photo with the antlers over the hill. Even from a distance one can sense curiosity in the creature.
ReplyDeleteMridula ~ Thank you! That's Josie's favorite photo in the batch too. :-)
ReplyDeleteJane ~ It sure is. (I'm sorry I've been unable to reciprocate visits to your blog, and hope to rectify that as soon as possible!)
aka Penelope ~ I share your hopes for rain in the parched areas (and drying in the drenched ones!) We haven't had anything close to what the folks in Texas are going through but I can sure empathize, since we had a horrible wildfire in 2007. Our house was spared but we lost all our fence and our shop building, and it was all too close for comfort!
That buck was definitely curious, he watched us for quite a while before disappearing behind the ridge. I suppose we and our three dogs and my photography antics must have presented quite a sight! :-)
You've reminded me how lovely early morning walks are even though I don't live in such an intrinsically lovely setting. :) Such beautiful expanses of sky and land.
ReplyDeleteLove the last pic! He's definitely got you on his radar!
Happy weekend Laurie!!
Wow, a great view and Josie all in one photo....good stuff.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, beautiful, beautiful. Did I say beautiful? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI know I've said it several times before, but wow, are you ever lucky to live in such a gorgeous place! I especially love the shot of Josie. <3
ReplyDeleteTatjana ~ Thanks!
ReplyDeleteRose ~ Early morning is my favorite time of day, for walks/hikes and everything else! :-) And I do love the expansive views here. A friend of mine, born and raised and still living in NYC, said open spaces like we enjoy make her very anxious ~ she needs to be enclosed by skyscrapers. I guess she has the opposite of claustrophobia, and I could never relate to that!
Our handsome, watchful observer had us on his radar for sure, and for quite a while!
Happy (last half of the) weekend to you too, Rose!
veganelder ~ Josie thanks you for agreeing that she greatly enhances the view and the photography. :-)
Ellie C ~ Um, I think you did, once or twice! :-) Thank you! I'm always so pleased when you enjoy my photos!
Molly ~ Yes, we are. And I know I've said this several times before, but we never get tired of the views here! Josie sends you sloppy kisses, and is taunting Tessa that her fan club is growing while Tessa's has stagnated. LOL
A lovely set of photo's, the first one is an awesome sky, pity the clouds didn't keep the promise of rain. Love those sunflowers growing wild.
ReplyDeleteI love your Friday picture post. You take some of the loveliest pictures. How wonderful it must be to actually walk outside and see that view. :)
ReplyDeleteLove the photos. They're so expressive — you really capture the mood and they tell a story, even when just a landscape is depicted.
ReplyDeleteJackie ~ Thank you! It was a pity, because we sure could have used it. There have been a lot of wildfires around lately, and the smoke has been awful. But yesterday we finally got some rain! Yay!
ReplyDeleteI know, aren't wildflowers the best?
Lori ~ Thank you so much! There really are a lot of lovely views to be had around here - taking lovely photos is just a matter of having a working camera. :-)
Good to see you, sorry I haven't been able to visit your blog in awhile! I'm looking forward to both a higher-speed internet connection and a lot more time this fall and winter so I can catch up on all the blogs I've had to neglect.
Andrea ~ Thank you, I'm really pleased that you enjoyed them! The landscapes here are very expressive, I think - I absolutely feel like they're telling me stories. I never thought about it that way before, but I can remember very much having that feeling when I was a kid, and would visit my grandparents up in Havre, MT every summer and we'd often spend evenings walking in the Bears Paw Mountains. I felt a very strong, deep connection to that land - the mountains, lakes, creeks, prairie, animals and wildflowers. I used to carry my little Kodak Instamatic camera on those walks, too! :-)
I love the photo of Josie best becaue of the not only Josie but that winding ditch. It's a picture I can just imagine myself (probably would need Mary Poppins help) just jumping into and going for a long hike!! It's that inviting!
ReplyDeleteI loved the beautiful photo of the buck watching you. How exciting that must have been.