Happy 1 Year Anniversary Arborfiles!

A year ago I started this blog - how the time flies! In that time, we've traveled from Wisconsin to Michigan to Connecticut to Missouri to South Carolina to Pennsylvania to Colorado to Idaho and now to Montana.

And to celebrate, the long overdue collection of photos from the last month.

Week 9-3--9-11 - Clayton, ID and Butte, MT:

Smoke from the Salt fire on the Salmon-Challis NF obscures the nearby mountain ranges

Moose paddle shed I found in the woods

Week 9-10--16-11 - Butte, MT:

Smoke fills the air for weeks during fire season

Characteristic vibrant purple heartwood of a juniper tree

From fire season to Fall in an instant - smoke one day, frost the next.

Week 9-17--23-11 - Butte, MT:

Metallic wood-boring beetle

Car wash

Hoop house built by Camille Green & Co at NCAT in Butte

Week 9-24--30-11 - Glacier National Park and Butte, MT:

No Name Lake in Glacier near Two Medicine

Old Man Lake (where we camped alongside after a 13.5 mi hike), as seen from the Continental Divide Dawson Pass (about 6 mi away).

First week of Fall, and the aspens begin to turn.

Weeks 8-20--26-11 and 8-27--9-2-11 - Washington Island, WI; Butte and Missoula, MT

Week 8-20 thru 8-26-11 - Washington Island, WI; and back to Butte, MT:

School House Beach at Washington Harbor

A highly recommended (courtesy of Marianne and Phil Pitner!) twist on caprese salad - sub the tomatoes for peaches... brilliant. I may even wager better than the original.

Abandoned Christmas tree field on the Island

Cows graze at sunrise in the smokey inversion created by wildfires nearby

Week 8-27 thru 9-2-11 - Missoula and Butte, MT:

Smoke from a 14,000 acre wildfire billows over the highway by Missoula

The infamous Douglas-fir beetles within their truly beautiful galleries beneath the bark. The galleries are so extensive that they completely wrap and girdle their host trees, shutting down the flow of water and nutrients, killing them in a season.

Wild raspberries abound.