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Alpenglow. Those fleeting moments of purple mountain majesty. That time of day when the snow-capped peaks seem almost ethereal as they are awash in violets, pinks, oranges, and reds. But what actually is it?

In its quiet presence my anguish receded until I had calmed, feeling drained and open to the world again. Since that experience I have wondered—was that real? Are Blue Jays capable of empathy?

There’s not much that brings me more pure joy in springtime than a hillside full of yellow bouquets of arrowleaf balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata).

We gripped the ice-covered railings of the large pool and submerged ourselves in the warm, welcome embrace of the 110° mineral-rich water. The cold air over the hot pools was thick with fog. Before the warm water lulled us into a floating slumber, we jumped out into the ice-cold air, our bodies steaming, to freeze a little before returning to the comfort of the pool.

"Soil creep" is the gradual movement of the substrate downhill over time. It’s a slow process, but all the soil on a slope is moving. Importantly for trees, the soil moves more quickly on the surface than deeper down.

For insects, it’s not quite that easy. So what’s the next best thing? Have yourself delivered to your food. After a long day, on a night when nobody is in the mood to cook, you might decide to order for delivery.

Smaller than a beaver, bigger than the common rat, these curious rodents are actually aquatic voles.

On a warmish day the first spring we were here, I was out walking the dogs and as I passed the birch my eye was caught by the reddish-orange forewing band of dozens of red admiral butterflies lined up along a seam running down the side of the trunk.

When air warms unevenly near the surface of the earth, it rises in giant bubbles toward colder layers in the atmosphere. Some birds seek out these rising masses of air, riding them like elevators while looking for prey.

Found in the Amazon rainforest of Peru, the slingshot spider has one of the most unique ways of using its web to capture prey.