Blog Archives
From the Top
Friends, thia is the view from the top of wind canyon looking north from the hiking trail. These large blocks of sandstone have fallen from the hill and some have been so eroded by wind and rain that they have holes all the way through their bulk. The banks rise above the Little Missouri River sometimes called locally the Little Muddy or Little Misery, depending on your mood for the day. The day that we visited, the sky was beautiful with cumulus clouds dominating this scene. til Tomorrow MJ
Wind Canyon
Friends, going through the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, we come to a small parking lot near the north end of the road. The sign says Wind Canyon and a short trail leads you to the top of the canyon where you can see carved figures of sandstone below you, like this golden man standing on a pedestal. A gigantic tree is growing from the bottom of the canyon, but a warning, the trail to the canyon bottom is wicked. You can slide on the sandstone to the bottom, but coming back up, you not only fight gravity but sandstone is so smooth that getting any purchase on the rock is difficult. til Tomorrow MJ
Spotted Towhee
Friends, this beautiful bird is a lifer for me, a spotted towhee from the North Dakota badlands. I love his red eye and rusty feathering, perched on a dead sage brush he was waiting for me to leave so he could resume his rummaging in the weeds for insects; til Tomorrow MJ
Weekly Photo Challenge:Extra Extra
Friends, this Bison calf has stirred up a cowbird in the green green grasses of Theodore Roosevelt National Park in western North Dakota. The badlands have received lots of rain this year and the park is very green. Good for Bison, birds and other wildlife that live here til Tomorrow MJ
Painted Canyon
Friends, this view is the first view that most visitors from the east see from the overlook along Interstate Highway 94. This is called Painted Canyon and is part of Theodore Roosevelt National Park in western North Dakota. Some never see the rest of the park, but those who do, usually fall in love with the red hills, wild animals and great trails. In the days to follow, i will take you to some of my favorite places in the park, enjoy til Tomorrow MJ
Weekly Challenge: Room
Friends, this is room to wander in the badlands of North Dakota, this rock has enough room to sit and watch the sunrise over the foggy hills. It is a place near and dear to my heart, where my mother was raised and i wandered as a child visiting beloved grandparents. The clouds are mares tails, reminding me of the wild horses who still roam the park (Theodore Roosevelt National Park). This is the first of several posts from this region, enjoy til Tomorrow MJ
Grouse Attitude
Friends, this Sharptail grouse is showing a little belligerent attitude, he is really calling gobble-check, gobble check, gobble check, as he cruises the lek trolling for a female, all puffed up with himself, his feet stutter on the ground as he dances the spring away. til Tomorrow MJ
Grouse Attack
Friends, sometimes the dancing of the Sharptail Grouse winds up in a confrontation, these two have come together head to head. After bluffing by jumpin at each other, one grouse launches into the air and comes down in an attack on the grouse who stays on the ground. never seen any bloodshed, but they sometimes shake themselves and turn away. I know it is blurred, but that was done intentionally to show the action, til Tomorrow MJ
Dancing Dancing Dancing
Friends, these birds are male Sharptail Grouse in Namekagon Barrens, thanks to the people who put up the blinds and this year they did a magnificent job. Some of the birds danced so close to the blind that one was lucky to have a telephoto zoom lens that you could back off to include the bird. You photographers know what i am talking about, too much glass sometimes. A great place to start a fledging wildlife photographer. til Tomorrow MJ
MJ Springett 