Bozeman and butterflies

I had a long list as I headed out to Bozeman, MT, yesterday.  Besides groceries, I needed to purchase an air compressor, and I also ended up buying a printer at Wal-Mart.  It was a 230 mile round trip, without a whole lot of excitement along the way.
The raft companies where doing a good business along the Gallatin River.
I did see a nice adult bald eagle during my brief 20 mile pass through the edge of Yellowstone on US 191.

Once I  got home, a pretty strong storm blew through the valley.
It left an eerie light over the campground, and a nice rainbow lighting the mountain ridge.

Mid morning today, I took Emma for a long walk on some of the dirt roads surrounding the campground.  I brought my camera along hoping to get some more wildflower pictures.
I did get a couple, but the astounding thing was the thousands of butterflies that surrounded us.  It was like being in one of those butterfly enclosures in a zoo.
I wondered if it was because of last night’s heavy rain that there were so many on the ground.
This variety really seemed to like the Astor-like blooms. 

Maybe you can guess that I have another question about Blogger.  I changed the header picture today and I can’t figure out how to get the picture to fit the space.  If I shrink it to fit, this is what happens.  If I don’t shrink it, it is way too big and only a portion of the picture shows.  I’ve gotten such great help with my other questions, I thought I’d throw this one out for suggestions.
I’ll leave you tonight with last night’s sunset after the storm.  :)

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy

A trip to Bozeman

The drive to Bozeman was very scenic.  About twenty of the 100 miles went through the western edge of Yellowstone NP.  I did see one grizzly bear as I drove along, but he moved out of sight before I could get my camera up to take a shot.
I don’t think I’ll ever tire of seeing snow capped mountains.

I did my shopping as quickly as I could since I had to leave Emma at home.  As it was, the round trip took me about seven hours.  On the way back, I decided to check out one of the forest service campgrounds in the Gallatin National Forest.



While I was driving through the Red Cliff Campground, I came upon these does in the middle of the mostly vacant campground.

There were quite a few sites and a dozen of them even had electric hookups.  I think I could have fit my rig into several of them.  The campground bordered the Gallatin River.  What a peaceful place it was.

I was able to find the kind of wine I enjoy, so I’m having a glass now as I write.  The weather was just gorgeous today.  I hope it continues tomorrow so Emma and I can give the Tower Falls area another shot.

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy

Another learning curve day

Yesterday was the day to learn about the new washer/dryer, and today it was time to learn about the convection oven.  I’m happy to report that today went better than yesterday.  :)

I appreciate all the comments and suggestions you all wrote.  The machine is vented outside.  I think I’d like to take stuff out when it is just damp, but I’m not sure how to do that just yet.  That door always seems to be locked when the machine is running.  I’ve always been a person who does the laundry once a week, but I guess I can adjust to running a load every other evening or so.  With only one of me in the rig, I have plenty of storage, so I think I’ll give it a try for a year or so, and then see. 

After giving the rig a good inside cleaning this afternoon, I tackled the instruction book for the convection oven.  With it in hand, I roasted two chicken thighs, and I must say I was pleased with the outcome.  Then I baked four Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies (all in the spirit of testing the oven:)).  They turned out just the way I like them.  You can’t beat a warm Tollhouse cookie in my opinion.  I think tomorrow I’ll try a garlic cheese flatbread.  It sure is a lot easier to use than crawling on the floor to light the pilot for my old tiny gas oven!  It was also a breeze to clean up.  So far, I give it two thumbs up.  :)
These are a few of the pesky brown-headed cowbirds that I’m plagued with at my feeders.  This evening I counted 90 of the buggers on and under the two feeders.  Ugh!  The other birds don’t have a chance.
 


























This male white-crowned sparrow has a territory right across the fence in the sage brush covered meadow.
This dark-eyed junco snuck in for a seed or two while the cowbirds took a break.

Of course it isn’t necessary for me to have bird feeders up, it’s purely for my enjoyment.  The birds do just fine with the natural food.  This pine siskin is probably gleaning an insect from between the pine needles. (I’m really not sure if this is a pine or a spruce)
Two siskins dueling over a branch.  It’s about the only time you get to see the yellow in their tails and wings.

I’m going to take a break from learning new things tomorrow, and head off to Bozeman, Montana.  Bozeman is a pretty good sized town, and the drive there is supposed to be very scenic.  I’d like to order some wine along with doing general grocery shopping. 

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy