Category Archives: Nature

An Hour Out My Back Door to the Top of the World

Posted on July 17, 2013 by westerner54

I just love that we can leave our house in the middle of downtown Helena, drive an easy hour into the mountains northwest of town and arrive here, at this beautiful meadow below Granite Butte.    It’s a gorgeous drive, too. Granite … Continue reading →

Posted in Camping, Montana, Nature, Outdoors, Travel | Tagged , , , | 17 Comments

Prairie School under a Big Summer Sky

Posted on July 9, 2013 by westerner54

Near Sand Coulee, Montana July 7, 2013

Posted in Montana, Nature, Outdoors, Photography | Tagged , , , | 18 Comments

Eaglets Growing Up

Posted on June 26, 2013 by westerner54

I’ve been watching three eagle nests this spring, and all of them now have eaglets who are getting ready to fledge:   the first one is high in a cottonwood and not too easy to see now that the cottonwood has … Continue reading →

Posted in Birding, Montana, Nature, Outdoors, Wildlife | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Does This Bear Spray Make Me Look Fat? Accessorizing for Glacier.

Posted on June 13, 2013 by westerner54

I bought a new canister of bear spray this year, since my old one was one we’d found along the trail a few years ago, and I really wasn’t at all sure that it would really work when I needed it.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Hiking, Montana, Nature, Outdoors, Travel | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

A Montana Morning on the Riverbank

Posted on June 6, 2013 by westerner54

I’m sitting on the bank of the Madison River: morning sunshine warming my back, yellow warblers flitting through the willows along the shore, a lone osprey making his way up and down the river looking for breakfast in the muddy … Continue reading →

Posted in Birding, Life, Montana, Nature, Outdoors, Wildlife | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

Lone Ranger Wannabes and Other Silly Birds

Posted on May 31, 2013 by westerner54

These dudes think they’re so clever. Like they think I won’t notice that they’ve totally ripped off their “disguise”? You know they’re up to no good – planning a heist or a bird-napping. And the hairdos that some birds come up with are … Continue reading →

Posted in Birding, Humor, Nature, Outdoors, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

Prairie, Lake and Sky: Solitude at Freezout Lake

Posted on May 28, 2013 by westerner54

Solitude can be hard to come by on a holiday weekend, even in sparsely populated Montana. But we found it, in the wide open prairie at the edge of the Rocky Mountain Front: Freezout Lake Wildlife Management Area. The migratory … Continue reading →

Posted in Camping, Montana, Nature, Outdoors, Wildlife | Tagged , | 10 Comments

Yellowstone: The Usual Suspects and a Surprise or Two

Posted on May 13, 2013 by westerner54

This fellow is one of the usual suspects: his name is Scarface, and I’ve seen him before in Yellowstone. He’s over twenty years old, with a mangled right ear, and..yes..a scarred face from too many run-ins with other grizzlies. I’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Montana, Nature, Outdoors, Travel, Wildlife, Yellowstone | Tagged , , , , | 36 Comments

The Osprey has Landed

Posted on May 10, 2013 by westerner54

When I’m photographing birds, my hope is that my picture will show the true spirt of the bird I’m seeing. It’s not easy. But sometimes I feel like I’m getting close.   (I’m participating in The Prairier Birder’s “Feathers on … Continue reading →

Posted in Birding, Montana, Nature, Outdoors, Photography | Tagged , , | 16 Comments

That’s My Spot!

Posted on April 26, 2013 by westerner54

Earlier this week I was checking out one of the Bald Eagle nests I’ve been watching, and I spotted these two sitting on a branch a couple of hundred feet from the nest.     At first I thought it was a Golden Eagle hanging … Continue reading →

Posted in Birding, Montana, Nature, Outdoors, Photography | Tagged , | Leave a comment