Trees, Shrubs, Wildflowers And A Butterfly

On a recent trip to the West Desert sky island mountains in Tooele County I found my lens pointed at trees, shrubs, wildflowers and a butterfly.

Spring Quaking Aspen leaves

I am a student of nature and have been for as long as I can remember. I’ve been interested in flowers, trees, birds, animals, rocks, insects and everything involved with nature since I was a child. I’ve also known all along that everything wild is connected and that I belong in that connection intertwined with the rest of the wild living and nonliving things.

I photograph and write about what I see, what I know, and what I love. Most of the time my subjects are feathered. Sometimes my subjects are the fresh spring leaves of a tree that catch my eyes.

Quaking Aspen leaves close up

The trembling leaves of a Quaking Aspen in the morning light caught my attention while I watched a nesting cavity in another nearby aspen.

Spring Wax Currant in bloom

Next up was a small shrub at the side of the road with pink, trumpet shaped flowers that I know attract hummingbirds. Wax Currants don’t bloom for long so I wanted to take more photos of them to add to my galleries.

California Tortoiseshell butterfly on blooming Wax Currant

I was surprised that there weren’t any hummingbirds nectaring on the currant blossoms. A tattered California Tortoiseshell butterfly flew in and and posed for a few moments among the flowers. When Wax Currants are in bloom butterflies, bees and hummingbirds benefit from their flowers. Later on in the year birds and small mammals will feed on their fruits.

Gray’s Biscuitroot blooming in a mountain canyon

Nearby and down the hill I could see Gray’s Biscuitroot in bloom. There were small bees nectaring on the sunny yellow flowers of the biscuitroot.

Female and male cones on a Douglas Fir in spring

Up higher in the alpine forest I was excited to see plentiful female and male cones on Douglas Firs. I know that come this autumn there should be Red-breasted Nuthatches in the area feeding on the seeds that are developing inside the female cones.

Female and male cones on a Douglas Fir in spring – Outlined

I’ve pointed out which are the fertile female cones in this photo. The male cones produce the pollen that fertilizes the female cones and once that is completed they will wither and fall to the ground.

Douglas Fir in spring showing female, male and old cones

I liked how this Douglas Fir branch showed the new and old cones together. I may have even photographed a nuthatch last fall feeding on the seeds of the mature cone.

White Fir and spring cones

The White Firs in the same area are also setting cones. This fir is quite tall and the cones are usually way up at the top which isn’t the best angle for me to photograph birds eating the seeds. Still, I love knowing that they do.

Blooming Western Waterleaf

I also took photos of a blooming Western Waterleaf near the White Fir. I’ve tried to take photos of it before while it was in bloom but the light was awful that day and my images weren’t up to my standards.

Western Waterleaf in bloom

I was pleased with the way my images of the Western Waterleaf turned out last week even though the sun was starting to get high by the time I photographed them.

Chokecherry starting to bloom

On the way down the mountain I was delighted to see that the chokecherries were starting to bloom. I wasn’t able to detect the sweet, honey-like aroma that I adore because the chokecherry wasn’t in full bloom but I know that I will be smelling their deliciously intoxicating scent soon.

These are just a few of the non-feathered subjects that caught my eyes last week in the sky island mountains when I wasn’t focused on birds.

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my flower, shrub and tree photos. Click here to see more of my insect and spider images.