As the flow becomes slow enough for the trout to lay eggs, there is a brief window of opportunity to spawn before the river gets too shallow to swim upstream. The female digs a trough with sinuous flicks of her body. And the attending male fertilizes the eggs as they are laid. Millions of new lives. 

 

It's now early July. And what looks like more snow is actually a blizzard of seeds and insects. There is more life in the park now than at

 

any other time of the year. It's a turning point in the summer. Through the coming month, the days will get hotter and drier. The plants will grow less vigorously, and the pace of summer will slow. 

 

The meadows are not so welcoming now. The grass becomes less nourishing as it puts its energy into seeds and roots.