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.
Moving slowly down the trail and looking remarkably like the earth he walked on we found this American Toad. He did look a bit grumpy and reluctant for us to take his photo so we let him be as he moved along into the grass beyond.
This time the jump got the better of the hop as a Bold Jumping Spider makes a meal of the grasshopper.
Denver, CO.
July
The water on the pond is just a bit stiller.
The dragonflies are out in force and the water lilies are in bloom.
Summer delivered.
One of our favorite wildflower is Prairie Smoke (Geum triflorum). Gazing into a field of these flowers is like watching a full on action movie yet motion is only implied.
This white tailed deer was photographed on a recent trip to visit family in the midwest. Living in the mountain west for so long I can say for certain I don’t miss the humidity and all the bugs. It sure was fun was running across this deer happily feeding away and hardly giving us a second look as we hiked through the woods. I had forgotten how small white-tailed deer can be.
Milk Weed, from bud to flower, posing nicely in the evening sunlight.
Everywhere we look on our daily walk milk weed is springing forth. Most plants have buds just waiting to burst into flower while a few have started their blooms. We all know milkweed is an important flower for the Monarch Butterfly but given its abundance it helps sustain many pollinators both large and small.
Summer is truly upon us…on your mark, get set….go.
Along Clear Creek in Denver, CO.
Sound to take in without sound to block out.
Although I posted this a week ago I just became aware of this new study on noise in our national parks and thought it important to pass along. The link is below.
https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2017/06/sounds-nature-national-parks-are-being-trampled-noise
Yes it is more than just a feeling ….Noise levels in our wild places are increasing at a rapid pace and what the consequences are only time will tell. Unless we respect that silence it seems it will soon be gone.
Yes, Silence has a sound that is becoming silenced.
This song seemed to be a gentle warning call but I could be wrong. However, biologists studying Prairie Dogs have discovered they have a complex language and perhaps one day we will understand it. Another discovery that suggest we are less different and more alike on this planet.
Pawnee National Grasslands, CO.
The photo is a bit blurry but so was our encounter with the 13 Lined Ground Squirrel. We were watching a Prairie Dog Colony and there was one Prairie Dog that just did not seem like the others. He was thinner and smaller. They would stand up tall and then quickly dart to another location very rapidly. They were much more hidden in the grass as well. We tried over and over to get a good look but this is the best we got that afternoon. A fleeting glimpse of a magnificent 13 lined ground squirrel.
http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Spermophilus_tridecemlineatus/
Seeing a new animal made me realize once again that life is so diverse and wonderful and there is so much yet to see.
nature has no boss 
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