This summers bounty of Indian Paint Brush was like getting that big box of crayons you always wanted as a child. So many colors, so much fun to be had.
And the best thing about getting the big box is that there are plenty of crayons to share.
Tag: nature photography
Shady rest
The green grasses and fields of wildflowers of summer have long turned to brown yet the heat seems to have remained as a mule deer doe finds a bit of a shady rest under a lonesome juniper tree.
Still on the coneflowers
Which came first the butterfly or the caterpillar?
We are not sure but they both seem to enjoy spending time on the coneflowers.
On the coneflowers
A fuzzy caterpillar makes their way through the Coneflowers.
Nibbling away one flower petal at a time enjoying a meal as they go gathering nutrients and the proteins they will need for their next stage of life.
Whenever we see a caterpillar it never ceases to amaze us that next time we see them they will be flying through the air as a butterfly or moth.
Metamorphosis is an amazing process.
Still Summer
Alas, while most of the summers wildflowers have come and gone there is still a bit of color to be found. The Dotted Gayfeather have done well this year and are in full bloom in the fields and along the roadside near our home and it looks like other besides ourselves are enjoying them as a little Skipper Butterfly enjoys a late summers sip of nectar.
Wrong tool for the job
While this juvenile Red Crossbilll might have just the right tool to pry open pine cones and extract the tasty seeds their attempt at getting a sip of nectar from the hummingbird feeder just did not work out so well.
Orobanche uniflora
I can’t say it better than it is stated in this NY Times article “There’s simply no way to talk about the beauty of Orobanche uniflora without raising a lot of eyebrows.”
Commonly called Naked Broomrape or sometimes Flowered Cancer Root this wonderful flower with unflattering common names was a new one to us when we came across it in meadow on a recent hike.
It is a short leafless plant unable to photosynthsize thus gaining it’s nutrients by parasitism. Often using sedum, saxifrages and asters as a host plant. Typically growing only up to 3 inches tall we found this cluster buried deep in the grass.
It is a beautiful little flower and very unique to say the least.
Yellowlegs
Watching a Lesser Yellowlegs working over the shoreline of an alpine lake for a meal. Summertime…when the living was easy.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Lesser_Yellowlegs/lifehistory
http://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/lesser-yellowlegs
In the fir: American Goldfinch
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.
Common Wood-nymph: Cercyonis pegala
I wonder if this beautiful butterfly we have named the Common Wood-nymph calls us the Common-Humans?
nature has no boss 
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