Yesterday Glacier had an impressive little spring snowstorm. Coupled with that was a midge hatch on Lake McDonald (midges are little black bugs that look like mosquitos without the sting). Birds flocked en masse to the lake shore to feed. There were Harris sparrows, varied thrushes, American pipits, robins, white crowned sparrows, gray crowned rosy finches, bluebirds, northern flickers, chestnut backed chickadees and out on the lake was a flock of coots and at least one common loon. Here, a gray crowned rosy finch tucks its head under its wing to take a snooze.

Back in 1929 a big old fire burned through the Apgar area in Glacier. The cedar trees that were killed were logged, but many of the stumps still remain. This stump happens to now be in a beaver pond. I was standing on the edge of the pond for a good 20 minutes before I noticed the goose on its nest. Such is life.

The mountain goats have descended down to the Goat Lick at U.S. Highway 2. Counted 25 yesterday, which is a good number. Looks like many of the young have survived the winter. The older ones are holding up as well. This tough old goat had a horn half broken off. The goats drop down to the cliffs along the Middle Fork to eat mineral soils there (that's right, they eat the dirt). I've actually tasted it and can only say this: It tastes like dirt. The minerals, it is surmised, help with their thick coats as well as replenish minerals that will be lost when they have kids in May. The lick is also home to mule deer, elk, bears and a host of birds. A viewing platform is just off the highway, but the parking lot is still full of snow.

Yesterday was windy in the Park. Took a walk up the Sun Road and the pavement is pretty much clear of ice. Here a Steller's Jay is ruffled by the breeze.

In the old days, when I shot black and white film, this photo was accomplished with a dark red filter. Today, with a digital camera, the scene was shot in color and edited with Photoshop. I suppose it's cheating in a way. But it still looks cool. (I did shoot this with film, but with color slide film using a 16mm fisheye. I like a good old fisheye view once in awhile.) As far as snow in the Park , there's still plenty of it. Plows on the west side are as far as Red Rocks, on the east side they're hitting Two Med, Many Glacier and have also plowed to the closure at Sun Point on the Sun Road. Beyond plowed roads, however, there's still plenty of skiing and snowshoeing.

Plowing began today on the west side of the Going-to-the-Sun Road. Crews should have a swath cut to Avalanche by the weekend, but don't expect to ride your bike on the road — below the snow is a thick layer of ice, that will take a few days to melt off, it it ever warms up. Last night the Park saw about four inches of new snow and a rain-snow mix is in the forecast for the next few days. On the east side, Park plow crews are also working on plowing the Two Medicine Road and they're encountering some very large drifts.