Through the Woods

On a hot day, there's nothing better than a hike through the forest on a mountain trail:

We saw lots of wildflowers:

(penstemon, lupine, and scarlet gilia)

I love columbines: 

This pretty golden beetle seems to like them, too:

This is a monument plant, also known as deer's ears, for the shape of the leaves.  It's in the gentian family:

The plants I saw were 2-3 feet tall. Deer like to browse on this forest dweller. The individual blossoms are unique and lovely:

A blue grouse attracted our attention:

Fortunately, Daisy didn't notice.  She was too busy hunting up some mud to enjoy:

Later she found a nice pond,

decorated with yellow pond lilies: