This summer a family of American Goldfinches has made their home in the fir trees nearby. Many a day have been brightened by their singing and the flight call as they move from treetop to treetop. A few weeks back we watched this male Goldfinch searching the ends of the branches in a tree with abundant fresh growth.
The trees were teaming with small caterpillars and this guy looks to have found a nice meal that afternoon.
Meal devoured and a victory pose well struck.
Have a wonderful weekend.
I wonder if this beautiful butterfly we have named the Common Wood-nymph calls us the Common-Humans?
A quiet walk on a summers day.
Where shapes of flowers and the textures of the forest were combined.
Formed the memory of that day.
A male Yellow-rumped Warbler bringing home a mouthful to feed the family. It’s hard to believe that while this photo was only taken just a few weeks ago the Yellow-rumped Warblers have already left our forests for the season. August is always a strange month and now that most of the migratory birds have left just seems stranger.
A wonderful duet between pollinators and flowers. In this instance Blanket Flower was the host of the party which had numerous attendees all lining up to dance with the host one by one.
The Joe Pye Weed is in full bloom and this painted Lady Butterfly is happy about that. Although known for attracting butterflies we have noticed others to find Joe Pye quite to their liking as well.
Dragonflies like Joe Pye.
As well as this wasp.
And this lovely looking bee with pincers you don’t want to mess with like Joe Pye.
A hub of activity with lovely flower to boot.
Some say there is healing power in a long forest experience, a practice called shirn-yoku in Japan. There certainly are days when you leave a nice walk in the woods with a feeling you can equate with healing. It need not be walking as a long sit on that quiet bench or rock also seems to do the trick.
Although scientific evidence is currently sparse as to the specific mechanism by which a forest walk promotes positive health we can all agree it does no harm at all.
On some days it is what we see and others what we smell. Many days it is what we do not see or smell as we walk away from the hustle and bustle and into the woods.
Whatever it is about a forest bath I sure wish Doctors would prescribe it more.
Well another week has come and gone and while a few Calliope Hummingbirds are hanging around the neighborhood the number have decreased significantly this past week. By all accounts we have only observed two this week. Therefore another tribute to this mighty little hummingbird is in order. While last week we featured the females this week we feature a handful of the many photos of the boys we collected over the summer.
We sure will miss that little flash of brilliant color.
Until next year we bid you adieu.
We sit you a wonderful weekend.
The Lorquin’s Admiral is one of those butterflies you see flittering through the air all summer. Flying nearby but not to near heading left then heading right but one you half-heartedly chase around while eon the trail hoping they will land close enough for a halfway descent photo and if they do land and you chose not to have the wrong lens on your camera it will be a photo well rewarded. This was one of those days we were rewarded. We spotted The Lorquins perched near the top of a small pine tree and as soon as we could get the shutter clicked they flew down to a small streamed for a quick drink.
Isn’t amazing how many colors butterflies eyes come in?
A few weeks back the wild Buckwheat plants we in full bloom along a trail we were hiking and they proved irresistible to a wide variety of butterflies seeking a nice sip of nectar on a hot summer afternoon. With both the Sulfur-flowered and Yellow-flowered species both in full bloom there was a buckwheat to meet the tastes of even the most discriminating species. While the Acadain Blue and Juniper Hairstreak we more partial to the Sulfur-flowered buckwheat….
The Fritillaries, Checkerspots and this beautiful Field Crescent favored the Yellow-flowered variety.
A beautiful collection of butterflies all within the span of 50 meters along the trail.
nature has no boss 
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