Marty’s photo of the day #4010: All the rain this year has made for spectacular waves of wildflowers at the Essen Wildlife Refuge, surrounding Deb’s and my house. A few weeks ago, the white flowers of the serviceberry bushes were everywhere; then they were replaced by the yellow flowers of arrowleaf balsamroots; now they are being replaced by waves of blue lupines (pictured). This is also, by far, the best year ever for squirrels (or most frustrating year, if you ask our dog, Nellie). They are everywhere! We also have healthy populations of deer, elk, moose, wild turkeys, and at least one wild peacock. Oh, and a mysterious, large, black, catlike animal that I have only seen the back of.