It’s always nice to have a little company while out on a hike and this day it seemed we always had one of these beautiful Pink Edged Sulfur butterflies fluttering about either in front or along side of us as we made our way along the trail.
They seldom seemed to take a break from their flight. Luckily one did and that gave us a chance for a close up look before they lifted off fluttered way.
Earlier this summer we got lucky and happened to walk under a nice old cottonwood tree and heard the unmistakable sound of little newborn birds chirping away for food. The nest in the tree belong to a family of Bullocks Orioles and like all oriole nest was well hidden in the leaves of the tree. It was amazing how rapidly the parents would fly into the tree, deliver the meals, and then fly back out making it somewhat difficult to get a photo or two.
Both parents we equally active in delivering meals to the kids. Above the male delivers some freshly caught bugs.
within minutes of the males departing Mom flew in and delivered another meal for to the growing chicks.
If this meal is any indiction of what the kids were eating I think the youngsters were well fed that day.
The youngsters have fledged and the nest is long empty now as another summer has come and gone.
Summer 2017 Denver, CO.
Hiking up high near Lake Irwin in central Colorado on a fine September day.
The forest is just a bit damper from the heavy morning dew and the colors are changing before my very eyes. Fall is in the air.
An American Robin surveys the surroundings from a burnt tree which matches their color quite well. This fire happened long ago but burnt trees still fill the landscape even as decades have passed.
It’s always a treat when a Male Common Yellowthroat pops out of the cattails and sits quietly for a minute or two. Just close enough to get a good look and soak up all that wonderful color.
A fine looking female Yellow Headed Blackbird makes the most of a soft cattail in the marsh.
Prickly Poppies are a wonderful wildflower to have around. On our daily walks we can rest assured we will find some in bloom. Once found, we can stop for a moment and enjoy the show as beetles, bees and ants do their work pollinating these delicate flowers. Even now, as fall approaches and most of the other wildflowers have lost their blooms, a few Prickly Poppies are still going strong.
They a treat for they eyes, like little whipped cream sundaes with a cherries on top.
Those little prickles protect such delicate yet tough flowers.
I am looking forward to see how long they continue blooming into the fall.
https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/argemone_pleiacantha.shtml
Denver, CO
A wonderful Blue Gentain getting cozy with an Orange Painted Brush up on a hillside in Rustlers Gulch. Crested Butte, CO.
A Barred Owl passes the day as only an Owl can do in a busy park on a quiet day.
nature has no boss 
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