I really don't mind miscellaneous creatures in my garden but when they almost leap into my lap my first reaction is to scream and run!! This "cute" little guy did just that as I was watering the roses near by. It did take a few moments to catch my breath and realize just what he was.

JW and I took a drive yesterday afternoon and stopped not to far up the East Fork of the BitterRoot River at a small campground. It was set right along the banks of the river and seemed an excellent spot to do some Fly fishing. So we may put up our tent there one of these days and as JW does his fly fishing I will be attempting to take some photos of him casting.

While we were walking through the campground we spotted this beautiful bird. I found a description of him in my Montana birding book. He is called "Clark's Nutcracker." He was first recorded by William Clark in 1805 in Idaho during the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He has a large pouch in his throat which is used to transport seeds. Studies have shown that this bird can carry up to 100 seeds at a time! That's a busy bird!!

This wonderful little guy came by for a visit to our Hummingbird feeder several times today. I guess I need to invest in a bigger book because I can not find him in my bird book. I enjoy sitting quietly and watching these small creatures. We have 4 very large Lilac bushes near the deck plus a beautiful large yellow flowering bush. And both will be in full bloom very soon so I know we will see a lot of this beauties in the coming months. What a beautiful world.