I took a walk on the Wild Side.

It's been years since I've taken this walk. Bobby was just a pup the last time we did this. Drugged up to the eye balls on anti-inflammatory meds and pain killers, I got my back pack and hiking poles and feeling a bit like Scott of the Antarctic, I headed out. It was already 6pm but I always do thing's on a whim.

After awhile I realized I felt awesome and it had nothing to do with the meds, they can only take the edge off. But I was telling all the wild flowers and the sagebrush "Yeah that's right, I'm back" so maybe it was the meds.

Here are the photos from the 'Friday Expedition to the Wild Side'.

Looking down at the farm and the Mustangs in their corrals. I called them and their heads shot up.



This is not a mountain top outhouse but a radio shack. In the olden days before cell phones were invented my husbands family kept in touch with radios and they had an antenna and other radio stuff up here.



On a clear day you can see the Cascade Mountains from here.



Serviceberry.

Squaw Currant.


The first of the beautiful Balsamroot (and my foot). More pictures of this beautiful plant to come.



Golden Currant with Chokecherry behind it.



This is called Foxsun's staircase. 20 years ago when I was 35 and Fox was three, we found a short cut down off a ridge. I cleared away the loose rocks and called it 'Foxsun's Staircase'.



It looked used and I wondered if he ever remembered it and used it sometimes.

Yep, he does because he left his calling card.



It made me feel kinda wistful and so I set out to see if I could spot him.

I saw something white far off towards town to the West and the outskirts of Odessa. It was a cow all by herself and I thought 'trouble'. Then I saw a black shape near her move. FOXSUN and Dandylyons!



Zoomed in as best I could. Fox is the dark spot to the left of her. The Odd Couple.



Here is a perspective on how far from the corrals they are. This is looking East. The arrow marks the spot where the imprisoned mustangs are.



I want to see the Mustangs up here. I want to take a walk and come across them doing their mustang thing. I want to be able to walk up to them and give them a carrot or apple and then leave them with the wind in their manes and wildflowers around their hooves. Oh and maybe some ribbons in their long flowing manes and some glitter too. No not really. I just want them out of those corrals and living like Foxsun does.

Spotted a job for Brad. We went up and fixed it Sunday. The cows and Foxsun knocked the fence over and were taking a short cut home.



With the sun on our backs we headed home. Well, Bobby runs in circles keeping the area around me totally wildlife free.



She couldn't keep the Meadow Larks from singing and so they filled the air with their lovely song.







Ferns in the rocks. Beautiful!



In the dappled light under the sagebrush, Shooting Stars.





Prairie Star Flower.



Dagger-pod.



Badger hole! Keep moving, they bite you if you linger about.



First of the lovely Phlox that grows in Sage Brush country.



What is this?



Soon the Yellow Bells, Larkspur, Lupine, Balsamroot and Bitterroot will be in full bloom. I love to find the shyer flowers like the Mariposa Lily. Here's what Bitterroot looks like before it has it's lovely flower.





The Bitterroot is the State flower of Montana. Indians used to boil and eat the roots. It grows in very shallow soil in and around basalt rock. On our place I find it growing almost straight of the rocks in windy exposed and very dry places. It has a beautiful and strange flower.

Larkspur and Lupine are toxic to cattle. I've also found Death Camas and even Loco weed growing up here, which by the way, Wildairo claims Echo's mother ate when she was pregnant.

After two hours of wild fun I saw Brad was hiking up to meet me and we went in for some good vittles.