Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

“Perhaps I should have considered other options.” (head-desk)

The republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

Today in our ongoing national embarrassment…

Fear and negativity are contagious, but so is courage!

“Loving your country does not mean lying about its history.”

Be a wild strawberry.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” was supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

There are times when telling just part of the truth is effectively a lie.

Fucking consultants! (of the political variety)

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

We need to vote them all out and restore sane Democratic government.

Trump should be leading, not lying.

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

Republican also-rans: four mules fighting over a turnip.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

You are here: Home / Photo Blogging / On The Road / On The Road – TKH – My Backcountry Garden Part 2: Western Mountain ranges

On The Road – TKH – My Backcountry Garden Part 2: Western Mountain ranges

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TKH

On The Road - TKH - My Backcountry Garden Part 2: Western Mountain ranges 9
Colorado

Colorado columbine (Aquilegia coerulea). I saw this first during my first long distance hike, the Colorado trail from Denver to Durango.

On The Road - TKH - My Backcountry Garden Part 2: Western Mountain ranges 8
near refugio Sorteny in the Pyrenees (France/Andorra)

Narcissus sp. One of the few plants I know where the wild species looks pretty much like the cultivar (or I should say the cultivars I know, since I do not peruse plant catalogs)

On The Road - TKH - My Backcountry Garden Part 2: Western Mountain ranges 7
Sierra Nevada CA

Gentian (Gentiana sp.). In Bavaria they make a schnapps (Enzian) from the roots. Hmh!

On The Road - TKH - My Backcountry Garden Part 2: Western Mountain ranges 6
Lake Basin, Sierra Nevada, CAJuly 8, 2024

What’s up tiger lily? Columbia tiger lily (Lilium columbianum)

On The Road - TKH - My Backcountry Garden Part 2: Western Mountain ranges 5
Knapsack Col, Sierra Nevada, CA

Sierra Shootingstar (Dodecatheon jeffreyi)

On The Road - TKH - My Backcountry Garden Part 2: Western Mountain ranges 4
Iceberg lake Pass, Sierra Nevada, CAJuly 7, 2022

Sky pilot or Jacob’s ladder (Polemonium sp.), said to grow only above 11 k ft in the Sierra, and that’s where I have seen it if at all

On The Road - TKH - My Backcountry Garden Part 2: Western Mountain ranges 3
Bear lakes basin, Sierra Nevada, CAJune 22, 2022

Sierra columbine (Aquilegia pubescens)

On The Road - TKH - My Backcountry Garden Part 2: Western Mountain ranges 2
Mountain West (Wind River range (WYO), Sierra Nevada (CA), SW Utah

Indian paintbrush (Castilleja sp.). I have seen them all over the West in the mountains. I don’t know whether they are all the same species. The genus contains about 200 species, so for the casual observer it’s probably rather difficult to tell. On a few occasions I have encountered a white version, but not frequently enough to believe that it’s a different species rather than a variegated form.

On The Road - TKH - My Backcountry Garden Part 2: Western Mountain ranges 1

California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum)

On The Road - TKH - My Backcountry Garden Part 2: Western Mountain ranges
Wind River range (WYO)July 29, 2003

Sego lily (Calichortus nuttallii)

Reader Interactions

16Comments

  3. 3.

    Betty

    Love the wildflowers. So delicate and varied. Sego lily- crossword answer very often.

  5. 5.

    Victor Matheson

    There is a reason that the Columbine is the state flower. It’s just a spectacular and instantly recognizable flower.

  6. 6.

    Trivia Man

    State flower of utah us the Sego Lily. Legend says eating the roots was what saved the lives of the pioneers.

  7. 7.

    Quinerly

    Great pictures. I put in 4 Columbine plants this year kinda under my apricot tree. SE corner (Santa Fe area). They are really healthy but no blooms yet. Thanks for posting your wonderful pictures.

  8. 8.

    TF79

    Was just on the CT for a stretch last week – no columbines, but the wildflowers in general were great.

  10. 10.

    pieceofpeace

    I love close-ups of the flowers, which I usually view only when leaning in for how they smell.  Up close causes me to marvel at the intricity, differences and sameness of them.

    Nature’s beyond grand…thank you for these lovely photos.

  11. 11.

    A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)

    Thanks for the great pics. I got a couple of Colorado Columbines a few years ago (yellow cultivars) and they bloom all summer, altho they are not that fond of heat.

  12. 12.

    StringOnAStick

    Ah, Gentians!  There’s an Autumn Gentian in the high alpine country of Colorado that is one of the last things to bloom before the snow falls, white with purple speckles, the flower twice the size of the blue ones and the plant is tiny, part of the mat of alpine vegetation.  I miss seeing that plant flower.  I love all Gentians though, plus Sego lilies.

    Native flower aficionados have tried for years to cultivate Sego lilies without much success; they are so gorgeous.

    I think that narcissus is very much like the classic old naturalizing variety called Pheasants Eye.

    Thanks so much for these!  I drive my husband nuts with taking wildflower photos when we are hiking, and he wants to keep powering onward.

  13. 13.

    StringOnAStick

    The Colorado high country often displays Indian Paintbrush in colours of orange, red, near magenta, chartreuse, white, yellow; all in the same general area.  Why there’s such a colour range is not something I can answer but the orange one tends to be lower elevation and drier locations; the other colours in higher and wetter areas.

  14. 14.

    Madeleine

    Such a contrast with yesterday’s cacti. I enjoyed the bright (apparent) robustness of the cacti, and today the delicacy of the various flowers.

    And thank you for giving respite from the debate coverage and response.

  15. 15.

    Yutsano

    Alpine flowers are amazingly hearty in the mountains. You get them into the city and it’s a different story. But I think viewing them in their native habitats is really the best way of looking at these wonderful blessings of creation. Thank you so much for the pictures!

  16. 16.

    TKH

    @Madeleine: I know what you mean. The scheduling is Water Girl’s genius, I merely push the files out into the ether.

    I will be taking a vacation from doom and head for the Sierra on Sunday to look at a new (to me) section of my backcountry garden.

    Noli bastardes carborundum!

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