Orioles

Today we decided to go for a hike and stopped at one of the dams/waterfalls first.  There was an island in the middle of the river that you could get to over a bridge.  But, pets were forbidden.  I stayed behind while Regis ventured over the bridge to take pictures.  Below is my picture of him taking pictures of the waterfalls.  He’s the guy in the yellow shirt. His waterfall pictures are posted on the flickr feed on the right.

While I was waiting, I saw a Bullock’s Oriole.  It was a very cooperative Oriole and hung around for me to view with binoculars and take pictures.  In my native Maryland, I have seen Baltimore Orioles a few times and mostly just fleeting glimpses.  I am overjoyed with the outstanding Oriole time I got in today.

While I was chasing Orioles with binoculars and cameras, Dart found the only shady spot and camped out.  Even when I went to the truck, he didn’t bother to follow.  It was as if he was saying “when I know for sure you’re leaving, I’ll come”.  He is not a sun worshiper.  His behavior impacted our decision about taking a hike.  We were going to take a hike along the river, but changed our plans because of Dart.  We did take a hike, but we kept it short.

To remind those of you who have dogs what life is like with a dog, I would like to relay a story.  This morning, I took Dart for a walk and he did his business.  When we embarked upon our later walk this morning, I forget to bring doggie bags.  As we got some way into the walk, I remarked to Regis that I forgot the bags and hoped Dart wouldn’t have to go AGAIN.  So what do you think he did within a few minutes?  The largest pile he has deposited in a long time.  I had to go back to the car and get bags.  Really!  Was that necessary?

An observation we made on our little adventure is that all the road signs suffer from the “swiss cheese” look.  Apparently, shooting road signs is a big activity in Montana.  It concerns me what do they shoot after they run out of road signs.

I saw an Osprey with a fish.  Ospreys are one of my favorite birds.  (I have lots of favorite birds.)  I like this picture I was able to get.  Regis accused me of harassing the bird while I was running around trying to get pictures of him with his catch. I think I was the least of his worries.  The crows were more interested in his fish.

There were lots of swallows hanging around the river, particularly the dam.  We think they are cliff swallows.

We have seen quite a few mule deer lately.  Regis calls them “donkey eared deer”.  What can I say?

By the way, we have decided dams are the best dam place to see birds around here.

I went to the Lewis and Clark interpretive center again.  I am posting a couple pictures on the flickr feed.  One of the the things I learned there is the proper way to say Sacagawea.  I have been saying it wrong all my life.  We have seen it spelled so many ways out here, that getting her name right is apparently a problem.