Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Bike Path
Sandpoint Bike Path....Taken 10/09
Posted by Big Piney Woods Cats at
6:50 AM
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Monday, January 30, 2006
Mushrooms
Close to Buzzard's Roost, St. Joe National Forest...Taken 6/27
I don't know what kind of mushrooms (are they mushrooms or toadstools?) these are. They were found at fairly high elevation. I have never seen this type before or since. Strangely, they were the only two in the area.
Toni
Posted by Big Piney Woods Cats at
6:50 AM
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Friday, January 27, 2006
Clearwater River
North Fork of the Clearwater River..... Taken 6/27
Posted by Big Piney Woods Cats at
6:59 AM
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Thursday, January 26, 2006
Roland Summit
Idaho/Montana state line (Montana in the photo, Idaho is just a few feet to the left.)
Taken.... 6/12
Posted by Big Piney Woods Cats at
7:12 AM
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Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Schweitzer Ski Area
Morning sunrise makes the mountains pink
I took this photo while standing in our front driveway. A promise of a gorgeous day.
Toni
Posted by Big Piney Woods Cats at
6:36 AM
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Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Heather
This picture of heather in my garden looks almost ready to bloom, however it will be March before it opens. It is tucked among the rocks, making a lovely rock garden planting. Photo was taken January 5th. When it blooms the color is a vibrant pink.
Toni
Posted by Big Piney Woods Cats at
6:53 AM
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Monday, January 23, 2006
Tall Timber
Boulder Creek area, Bonners Ferry
Our daughter, Dawn, on annual camping trip in July.
Toni
Posted by Big Piney Woods Cats at
7:19 AM
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Sunday, January 22, 2006
Climb The Mountains
Quarles Peak, St. Joe National Forest...taken 9/23
The following was written by John Muir back in the early 1900's:
Walk away quietly in any direction and taste the freedom of the mountaineer.Camp out among the grasses and gentians of glacial meadows, in craggy garden nooks full of nature's darlings. Climb the mountains and get their good tidings, Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. As age comes on, one source of enjoyment after another is closed, but nature's sources never fail.
Toni
Posted by Big Piney Woods Cats at
7:08 AM
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Saturday, January 21, 2006
What's For Lunch?
This sweet little guy came visiting this fall, eating tiny ornamental crabs off the tree just outside the window. What he didn't eat the grouse finished off. (I counted five of them up in the tree for days, until they had eaten every last one.) He has tiny "nubbins" that can't be seen in the picture unless you look really close. He was pretty tame, way too tame for it being hunting season; guess he knew he was safe in The Big Piney Woods. I took the picture this fall, inside the house, as he peeked in.
Toni
Posted by Big Piney Woods Cats at
7:17 AM
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Friday, January 20, 2006
Snow
Our front yard
This morning we woke up to snow, lots of it, with more on the way.Toni
Posted by Big Piney Woods Cats at
7:16 AM
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Thursday, January 19, 2006
Panning For Gold
Boulder Creek....Bonners Ferry area
This is my youngest son, Aaron, panning for gold on Boulder Creek during our 2003 family campout. The only thing I can say is he didn't get rich but had a great time. There is also a ghost town nearby with old buildings (some still standing) and a graveyard, also lots of exciting history about a town called Leonia that my son Leigh is researching.
Toni
Posted by Big Piney Woods Cats at
7:29 AM
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Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Fog On The Pond
Winter Day on Big Piney Woods Pond....Taken 1/7/06
Posted by Big Piney Woods Cats at
7:14 AM
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Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Priest Lake
Priest Lake in the distance.....taken 7/04
Posted by Big Piney Woods Cats at
9:25 AM
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Monday, January 16, 2006
Waterfall
Priest Lake Area
I took the photo last summer, July 4th. It was taken on our big annual family camping trip, on one of the forest service roads we were exploring.
Toni
Posted by Big Piney Woods Cats at
12:20 PM
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Sunday, January 15, 2006
Winter Sunset
Taken from our driveway, looking South
Posted by Big Piney Woods Cats at
12:38 PM
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Saturday, January 14, 2006
What is Idaho Nature Trails?
Near Fish Lake, St. Joe National Forest
I have always loved nature; animals, flowers, trees, mountains, streams. A field of daisies stirring in the summer breeze, dewdrops on a spider web, a splendid pink and orange sunrise, birds greeting the day, water tumbling over rocks, mist floating through the mountain peaks, snow falling softly, clinging to the pine trees, and, like the song says, "raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens".
There is nothing more humbling than hearing a bull elk bugle, while sitting around a campfire on a star-filled frosty September evening, and nothing sweeter than a newborn fawn hiding in the tall grasses, waiting for mom, who is always very close by.
There is nothing more beautiful than a blue-green lake tucked high in the mountains, surrounded by alpine fir; looking down to see the wild flowers poking through the granite, looking up to see the eagle soar and looking out beyond the peaks to the blue hazy sky.
There is nothing more gratifying than hiking through tall timber, so tall nothing grows underneath except a few ferns, wild ginger and mosses. Looking at the lichen covered branches, breathing in the deep earthy smell, touching the bark of a tree, hundreds of years old, and hearing the sound they make as they shudder in the wind.
I know, as I walk through this pristine place, eyes are following me, for this is home to the animals. I am an intruder here, although I am never afraid in the woods, I fear civilization and what it has done to this majestic land. I leave the forest untouched, in fact, a better place, as I clean up what careless man has left behind. I come away renewed, each and every time I step out my door and go into the Big Piney Woods, or travel up into these mountains that have become such a part of me. Together with my husband, we have explored the vast wilderness that is home, and come away renewed and enlightened.
To me, nothing smells better than fresh cut pine, crisp mountain air, or the earth after a rain. No can of spray can even come close to nature's perfume.
Please, come walk the path of nature with me....... in photos I have taken of these special places.
Toni
Posted by Big Piney Woods Cats at
3:02 PM
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North Fork of the Clearwater River..... Taken 6/27 
Morning sunrise makes the mountains pink
Quarles Peak, St. Joe National Forest...taken 9/23 
