Friday Field Notes: Home for the Holidays

During my visit back east I was reminded of how wonderful my parents' backyard is for observing birds and small critters. As I sat on my parents' back porch I was ecstatic to see a number of Black-capped Chickadees, one of my favorite birds in Montana, as they quickly swooped down from the shrubs and large oak tree towards the bird feeder that my parents had positioned in the backyard when I was just a child. Ever since its placement in our backyard, the bird feeder has always attracted Eastern gray squirrels. It still puts a smile on my face to watch the squirrels scurry about, as they gather the birds' littered seeds off of the ground.

Friday Field Notes: An Evening look at Yarrow

Friday Field Notes: Greenough Park at Dusk

December 9, 2013

During a winter walk in the snow with Greg and my dog Oatis we decided to stop at our favorite swimming spot on the Rattlesnake Creek. 

Friday Field Notes: Nature Journaling on a Brisk December Day

December 1, 2013

Norway Maple 

Latin name: Acer platanoides

The Norway Maple originates from Europe and Western Asia and was introduced the the United States as an ornamental tree. The deciduous tree offers shade in the spring and summer and it is adapted to survive in adverse conditions, typical of Montana winters. It is believed that the first Norway Maples were brought to Missoula by Frank Worden, the founder of Missoula. Although a beautiful tree, the Norway Maple, with its dense canopies of foliage and allelopathic properties (a process in which its roots release a toxin into the ground) are known to displace native plant species.