The robins have returned and are enjoying the fall in the forest nearby. We have so many around in spring and early summer and then the vanish only to return as fall begins.
I enjoy their company and are grateful for their return to our little woodland nearby.
Quietly perched and giving us the 180 degree head turn like only an owl can give a Great Horned Owl waits in the early evening light for their day to begin.
Happy hunting to the owl and have a great weekend to all.
Tow different alpine moths each wearing fur coats forage up high in the mountains of central Colorado.
Photographed in early September.
Just an hour after posting this I came across a news story describing the decline of insects by 75% in Germany. I am sure this is happening globally to varying decrees. This sixth extinction caused by our human species will have consequences and is affecting life big and small. A link to the study is provided below:
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0185809
With a snow storm moving in beautiful colors pop from the rocks and trees near Lizard Head Pass, Colorado.
Fuzzy Purple Asters up high near tree line. It seems that when you ascend up towards the tundra the Asters become more fuzzy. A fur coat to protect against the chilly nights?
The butterflies like them as much as I do.
Photographed in August near tree-line in Central Colorado.
Snow up high and rain moving in down low along the Buffalo Fork of the Snake River in Wyoming. Fall colors in the Valley and dark clouds up high portend the early arrival of old man winter.
October is the time when Milk Weed releases it’s seeds and boy how I love looking at these. So many variations on a theme each unique in some wonderful way.
With the firm arrival of fall comes a quieter time of year. The songbirds have left and the animals have hunkered down. There will be sunny days but the cloudy days become more frequent as October marches on.
One of my favorite wading birds is the Black Necked Stilt. The Audubon guide says “Everything about the Black-necked Stilt seems delicate — from its incredibly thin stilt-legs to its slim wings and its needle-like bill — yet it manages to thrive on the sun-baked flats around shallow lakes, some of them in searing climates.”
They are truly amazing birds and have the second longest leg length to body ratio of wading birds only surpassed by Flamingos.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-necked_Stilt/lifehistory
This little dragonfly seemed as small and ethereal as the air in which they flew. I am not sure the exact species of Dragonfly but this one was one of the smallest I have seen this year. Perhaps a juvenile?
They were hovering about then occasionally landing on the fall grasses out in a field where we take a walk. This one had what looked to be eggs attached to their body. Do Dragonflies or Damselflies do that?
Barely as long as a few grains on the grass.
nature has no boss 
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