Along the trail the House Wrens song was unmistakable. Moving quickly in the underbrush but appearing just long enough for a quick photo. A house wren is always a great companion while on the trail and that song is unmistakable.
Linum Lewisii: Blue Flax
Blue Flax floats, or so it seems, and shines like the summer sun warming the fields in the morning light.
Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel
Cute like a Chipmunk only bigger. The Golden Mantled Group Squirrel is a resident of mountain and coniferous forest regions across the western United State and Canada.
We spent some time observing this guy/gal while on a recent hike. They were busy scurrying about and not too concerned about us hanging out watching them. They moved about nimbly in the rocky terrain where we found them that afternoon.
Before we left they collected a nice big piece of moss presumably for their den.
So, if you see a giant chipmunk running around it is probably a Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel.
Female Yellowthroat
We spotted this Female Common Yellowthroat quickly moving in and out of the bushes while on a morning walk. While we most often see the males perched out in the open singing we very rarely have seen the female out in the open like this. She only stayed for a minute or two then flew off into a marshy area several hundred yards away.
Spotted Sandpiper
A spotted sandpiper serene and observant along the banks of the Snake River in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park. It sure feels nice when we feel one with our environment.
Rise and shine
Warm summer sun illuminating the electric blue of the Penstemon welcome a Prairie Dog to this fine summer day.
Time to rise and to shine on this fine summer day.
Have a wonderful weekend.
A Marvel or Marvelous?
A male Red Veined Meadow-Hawk dragonfly perches on an old branch just above eye level. Perched facing right, he took a quick flight, then perched on the same branch facing left. He provided us a wonderful view of what has to be considered a marvel of engineering and biomechanical design from his amazing exoskeleton right down to the structure of his wings.
Truly a marvel as well as marvelous to observe. Beauty, form and function all wrapped up in one fine package.
From the water
A day spent paddling besides just being good clean fun allows you to see things from water level. Yes, these are birds we see from land, but while floating by in a kayak, seeing mergansers, red-necked grebes and bald eagles from the water provides us with a different perspective.
A common Merganser pair preens while perched on a log.
A Red-Necked Grebe pair courting and strengthening their bond.
An ever watchful immature Bald Eagle perched along the shore. All sighted we can see from land but when seen from the water make them just a bit more special.
The Yellow-headed butterfly
We see this butterfly at least once per summer and usually on the same week in mid-July. I am having a difficult time correctly identifying the species. Looks a bit like a form of white or a form of a sulphur. It is beautiful regardless the specific species and we always enjoy finding and observing one on our mid-summer hikes.
The Bully
Meet the local bully a Male Rufus Hummingbird. We typically only have Calliope Hummingbirds list our backyard feeder so it was a surprise, and a welcome one, to have this beautiful guy visit. It was a pleasure until we observed his bullying behavior. He would fly to the tree the feeder was hung from and perch on a hidden branch waiting for unsuspecting Calliopes to visit. He would then swoop down and chase them off. The funny part is that he seldom visited the feeder for a sip of nectar himself. Beautiful but quite the bully this Rufus guy.
nature has no boss 
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