Sagebrush holds a special attraction for me so I’m particularly fond of images of birds perched on it.
1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
This is an older image of a Long-billed Curlew perched on and displaying from sagebrush on Antelope Island in early July. I like the pose, the warm early light and the graded blues in the background. And of course I love the sagebrush. Though curlews prefer grassland habitats for nesting they often land on the higher sage to display and watch over their territories.
I probably romanticize sagebrush as a symbol of the old west but I also love its unique gray-green color, its yellow flowers in late summer and early fall and the habitat it provides for species as varied as Sage Grouse, Gray Vireos, Sage Thrashers, Pronghorn, Mule Deer and several species of rabbits.
And its smell is to die for, especially after a rain. Occasionally while photographing birds from my pickup along the edge of a road I’ll inadvertently run over a small piece of sage with a tire and instantly that sweet, pungent odor fills my truck. When that happens I’ll often just sit there for a while and savor the moment and the smell. On those occasions my mind typically wanders to my Dudley ancestors who crossed the plains in a covered wagon from Illinois to Utah in 1850. They would have been intimately acquainted with the sweet aroma of sagebrush.
One of my favorite authors (and a personal hero) had the following to say about the smell of sagebrush. I couldn’t agree more.
- … the perfume of sagebrush after rain, evokes in magical catalysis, like certain music, the space and light and clarity and piercing strangeness of the American West.” Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire.
If you haven’t smelled sagebrush in the rain you haven’t lived (and I say that with only a wee bit of hyperbole).
Ron
Beautiful shot Ron and from a very old song,”the sage in bloom smells like perfume when the wind comes right behind the rain.”
Charlotte
Desert Solitaire is an amazing book isn’t it?
You know that sagebrush is not in my experience. Scent is such a powerful trigger though. For good and for ill.
EC, that book was one of the first influences to awaken my environmental conscience. It’s a classic IMO.
Edward Abbey GOT it. Love that man’s words.
I absolutely agree. I planted Sage in my mailbox planter and the mailman and others who pass by tell me how much they enjoy it. It is like bringing a bird walk home with me. I always wished I could add the smell to my photos.
“I always wished I could add the smell to my photos.”
I actually thought of that when I was writing this post, Phyllis. I was going to say in my text that I wished I could add one of those “sniff strips” (or whatever they’re called) to my post.
Beautiful photo and yes sage is wonderful. On Thurdsay’s hike and adventure we hiked through damp sage and had a brief shower it smelled so fresh. The air was cool with a crisp breeze. We saw our first curlew and burrowing owl for this season. There were many short eared owls too. One of the highlights of the day was sea foam, 4-5 ft deep and 6-8 ft wide. We played in it, it is strange stuff. Moist but dry and very grainy with salt crystals. We were so covered in it when our clothes dried they held our shape and stood by them selves.
April, anytime there’s “many Short-eared Owls” it’s been a good day. Yours sounds like it was wonderful.
The floor of the sweat lodge is often covered with sage. The heat of the stones and the humidity of the water poured on them create a sagey smell that is almost intoxicating. It feels so clean and “right”…,
I have a very close dear old friend who has enjoyed Native American traditions out west. She speaks of their traditions warmly and nostalgically.
Sage brush(especially when crushed), after the rain when the sun comes out, and you have the mixed scent of sage and wet-clay smell of warming earth ……water droplets making the blue-gray green sage leaves sparkle like polished silver—Heaven!!! If for no other reason, sage is worth saving just for this experience….
Patty, as you well know, sagebrush is worth saving for a LOT of reasons but for many of us the one you mention is near the top of the list.
The smell of sage is one of the things I miss the most about the west. I LOVE that smell. It’s delicious! One of my fields in Wyoming was a sage scent sensual orgy and I LOVED hunting that field. Plus, fields in Utah and Colorado. Sigh…gotta get back there! Just GOTTA!
I hope you make it out west again, Laura – for a visit or permanently.
We’re not talking a visit Ron…I won’t come back here if I get back there. And I did the same thing, rubbing it in my fingers…lovely. I brought some with me when I left Wyoming (another one of those dumb life moves) and it’s still got a little of its scent. Makes me happy.
I love hiking through sagebrush after a rain or when the air is very moist. I want to just roll in that intoxicating odor. Neat picture of a shorebird in a totally unexpected place.
Thank you, Marilyn. Watch out for ticks on those sagebrush walks…
I am completely with you on this. I love the smell, color, shape, and habitat of sagebrush. The aroma when you crush it between you fingers, ahhhhh.
Ken, I can’t help but rub it between my fingers when I get the opportunity. And it lingers there for a long time.
Nice shot Ron! Great colors!
The smell of sagebrush to you is like the smell of spruce and fir to me after a rain or when bruised.
I wonder if rabbit brush is like ragweed. Ragweed isn’t showy, but it blooms the same time goldenrod blooms and goldenrod is yellow and showy and always gets blamed.
Thanks, Dick. I don’t know. I suppose it’s possible but I suspect that folks could be allergic to sage just like some are to rabbit brush.
One of my Lakota friends hates the smell of sage…I think he might be allegic– or at least sensitive to it…tough when he lives surround by it….
As I understand it, Golden Rod is innocent, but because it blooms when, and near, Ragweed– and is more showy, it gets blamed for people’s allergic reactions. When fir (especially Balsam Fir)or aromatic flat cedar is sprinkled on the hot stones (to bless and thank them) in a sweatlodge, the combined aroma is wonderful…as each hot stone is brought in and placed in fire pit in the center of the lodge, it is welcomed and gifted with dried bits of one of these aromatics..when all the stones to be used for the lodge are in, all of them are sprinkled once again…the sparks, sparkles, and smell is truly wakan…a dipper of water is srinkled on the rocks, creating hissing steam, the “door” is closed and the prayers can begin….
Beautiful picture, Ron. Sagebrush is great until it’s blooming and allergies kick in! The smell after a rain is nice tho. 🙂
Thankfully I don’t have any allergies, Judy. I know that a lot of folks are allergic to rabbit brush that often grows near sagebrush, especially along roads.
Re the smell of sagebrush in the rain: How Sweet It Is !!!
That’s for darned sure, Jeff.