A Montana View

Merle Loman is an outdoor enthusiast living in the Bitterroot Valley located south of Missoula in western Montana. Her adventures start there but will also travel the world. She runs, hikes, bikes, fishes, hunts, skis and always take photos. As much time as she spends outdoors, one needs to eat. You will see entries about foods that travel well, making it much more fun to spend long periods of time exploring the flora and fauna. Merle authors a photo/adventure blog, Merle's adventures, flora and fauna See my articles on Examiner.com See my photos on RedBubble - A Montana View and SmugMug - A Montana View Follow me on Twitter and Facebook,, Google+, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, and Digg and Tumblr

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June 19 I accidentally almost stepped on this tiny fawn. The doe must have left it in the grass while feeding somewhere else. I snapped the photo and left

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As a certified Montana Master Naturalist, Merle wants to photograph nature in Montana's mountains, plains, rivers and more to document the beauty and statu

Would love some help funding this important project. As a certified Montana Master Naturalist, Merle wants to photograph nature in Montana’s mountains, plains, rivers and more to document the beauty and status of Montana’s natural world. The photographic journal will serve as documentation and educational material for school programs in a naturalist curriculum for youth and adults. Her goal is to gather photographs and information then catalog and write about the state of nature in Montana in 2015 and 2016. Travel, gear, time and equipment will be costly. Any help would be much appreciated. Thus far she has shared naturalist photos and information with Montana Natural History Center (and the schools they serve), Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and Montana Natural Heritage Program. There is so much more to do on this project.

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The female Bullock's Oriole is building the nest. The male is supervising.

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See and purchase all my wildflower photos at this link -

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White-tailed Buck in velvet - first year maybe

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Bitterroot Wildflowers - Lewisia rediviva 2013

Bitterroot (Lewisia rediviva) south of Sweathouse Creek in the Bitterroot Mountains on6-11 - last flower I could find up here. Image 5034

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St Mary Peak and fire lookout in early March - 9,351 feet elevation at lookout. Bitterroot Mountain Range, Montana. Image 1502 (taken at 8 am before Daylight Savings Time) Maybe my last winter photo for this season ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Please share and like the A Montana View Facebook page! Thanks so much for viewing. | visit www.amontanaview.com | ‪#‎Montana‬ ‪#‎Outdoors‬ ‪#‎gottaloveMT‬ ‪#‎winter‬- Buy this photo http://smu.gs/1lpE8Yp

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Bear in a pond in western Montana, USA. Taken in late June in a pond on Pauline Creek. Canon EOS 7D 1/80s, f/11.0, ISO: 160 manual setting, tripod Canon EF500mm f/4l IS USM lens

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South of Darby, Montana there is an area where Bighorn Sheep live and thrive. There was a health scare (pneumonia) recently but the population is rebounding. Good news. We love our wild sheep.Breeding begins mid- to late November. Asynchronous estrus in ewes within rut. Intense mate competition among males. Lambing occurs late April to late June (sometimes early July).

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Taken in western Montana in early November. All he can think about is the doe in front of him. The gate of Mule Deer include stotting - bounding leaps, keeping all feet together. Unlike a White-tailed Deer, they keep their black-tipped tail down when running or stotting.

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This is a “feel good” post. I just love the look and sound of these wonderful birds as they fly and hunt. These photos were from far away and it was dark, so they are cropped and not as clear as many of my photos. But, I liked the look of this graceful hawk and hope you do, too.

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looking east from Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge in western Montana, USA.