Photo of the day

Old Faithful geyser, Yellowstone National Park

Photo of the day

Falls on Darby Creek, Teton County, Wyoming. This is still on the western side of the Tetons.

Photo of the day

If you're trying to maintain a field of grass here in the Teton Valley, here is your main enemy: The Thistle.

Photo of the day

View of South Teton peak*, through an irrigation wheel in an alfalfa field, Teton Valley, ID.

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* We inadvertently identified this peak in abstentia in a previous post as the Grand Teton, but have since been disabused of this notion by a full-time resident in the Teton Valley. The Grand lies to the north of this peak (that's to the left on your computer screen).

Photo of the day

Teton mountains from Antelope Flats Road, Grand Teton National Park

Photo of the day

Gros Ventre River tributary, Grand Teton National Park

Happy Independence Day

The second best part of the 4th of July parade we went to in Victor, ID today:

The best part was the lead procession -- five veterans representing the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard, carrying the flag. We stood, applauded, and shed a tear.

God Bless America.

Go, balloons!

It was a beautiful morning. It began at 5:30, which is a wee bit early. But it was worth it...

Go, balloons!

Keep coming, balloons!

We need more balloons!

All balloons! All balloons should be going!

Photo of the day

Here is the lower pond at our house. At the far end, you can barely make out the little waterfall that was in the video in this post, which is mostly obscured by the aspen leaves.

Because of the difference in the light between the pond and the mountains in the background, the Grand Teton is washed out in this picture. It's not a full view of it -- just the tip peeking its head up over the foothills and keeping an eye on us here down in the Teton Valley.

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UPDATE: See this post, where I am reliably informed that the Grand does no peeking down on us; rather, it is the South Teton peak that is washed out in this photo. Apologies to both peaks for the oversight.

Flora

According to the calendar, summer has begun.

For us here vacationing in the Teton Valley of eastern Idaho, we are definitely still in spring. The snowfall was near record level this year, and the temperatures have been mild.

We are reliably informed by our brother who lives here full-time that as recently as last week, we could have gone sledding at Grand Targhee -- the snow pack still reached to the base of the mountain.

It's warmed up now, of course -- but the flowers are blooming here several weeks later than normal.

We are not complaining. Not in the least.

Here are some of the shots we took today in a traipse around the property with our five year old daughter. One of the pics she actually took, though we won't tell you which one.

Columbine:

Columbine:

White Lilac:

Pink Lilac:

Goat's Beard:

Flax:

Lupine:

Streaming video

We've arrived in Idaho. It's just...so...peaceful. Yesterday we were treated to a cool overcast afternoon with a few sprinkles. Today it is sunny and warmer.

Let's share some of the sights and sounds around here.

We have two ponds and a stream that runs between them. This is a source of much of the peacefulness here. The sound of the water running over the rocks, which you can hear so very clearly if you open the windows at night, provides the background for the best sleep ever.

We'll embed one video of the stream here and link the others:

More videos here and here.