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Salix discolor (pussy willow). Like daffodils and tulips,pussy willows are one of those species that bloom in early spring.The flowers are soft silky silvery catskins borne in early spring before the new leaves appear, with the male and female catskins on different plants; the male catskins (which is probably what these are) mature yellow at pollen release -Wikipedia
Phantom Spring Ranch got its name when my parent's first saw it. They visited the property in the summer having read about the numerous springs in the real estate posting.
Upon arrival, there was no sign of springs on the ranch except for the Little Prickly Pear creek which is seen in this photo.
Turns out the primary spring runs into the creek at the base of this small hill. You can see it in the hint of open water in the otherwise frozen creek. It's the outlet of the spring and is just warm enough to remain ice free throughout the year.
At other times of the year, a few other springs run in the gulches of the dry hills north of the ranch house.
The creek, numerous beaver ponds, marsh areas, and flat meadows are the reasons my parents bought the place.
The creek is mentioned in one of the stories in the book 'A River Runs Through It' by Norman Maclean. The story notes the Sieben ranch which neighbors this one - at 80,000 acres it's a significantly larger stretch of land than Phantom Springs.
Although only 30-45 minutes outside Helena, the capital of Montana (population 26,000), the valley and surrounding hills remain ranch land.
The creek and surrounding marshes are host to brown and rainbow trout, river otters, beavers, and nesting pairs of bald eagles and Sandhill Cranes. An occasional swan has flown through on migration.
The rest of the property is dry ranch land. It's host to many deer, elk, coyote, and more rattlesnakes than I care to have seen in my lifetime. My parents have also seen black bear, mountain lions, and one of the wolves from the original Yellowstone re-introduction pack. The wolf was identified after being tranquilized by rangers chasing it by helicopter.
It's a special place we love visiting throughout the year.
Rapeseed flowers and a apple tree at an old fortress in the Netherlands. A lovely place for an early morning stroll.
Midori welcomes spring wearing a flower chaplet made by AyuAna. And I was determined that she get to wear the Switch dress that was too small for her, so she sort of is, well...upside down.
I love this time of year, watching the new growth even though it's still a bit on the chilly side. Not often you see ripples so close to the edge in this particular place.
Happy Thursday Monochrome 😊
Kennebunkport, ME Water filled leading lines at Adams Family Tree Farm.
ABC Challenge M is for Monochrome
"In springtime, love is carried on the breeze. Watch out for flying passion or kisses whizzing by your head."
Emma Racine deFleur
"If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall."
Nadine Stair
The water was flowing off the mountains in the Boxley Valley of the Buffalo National River in Northwest Arkansas after big rains on Sunday. This spring house is visible from the highway and is apparently a big draw for photographers during high water. A woman was shooting it when I showed up and another photog was there when we went by a couple hours later.