
Evening approaches at a place they call Humbug point.
Not sure why they named it this as there was nothing to be Humbug about.

Evening approaches at a place they call Humbug point.
Not sure why they named it this as there was nothing to be Humbug about.

Layers of blues and purples combine to give the appearance of black. There are so many colors in the color of a Raven and who would of thought that Black Feathers actually help keep Ravens cool.
Earth and sky and earth and sky as far as the eye can see.


The flocks Pinyon Jays moved across the landscape in large numbers noisily calling to each other. On some mornings they would congregate in a flock easily numbering 100 individuals seemingly flying in from all four directions on the compass. An wonderful sight and one we don’t often experience.
In fact, according to All About Birds:
Seeing and hearing them was a daily occurrence yet getting a photograph was altogether another matter. Just once did they land close enough for a nice photo opportunities and as might be expected it was in a pinion tree with plenty of booty to be had.

Peeking out of a small slot canyon as the sun begins its daily decline. Soft clouds, juniper and rocks above as another day comes to a close.
The Mormon cricket is actually not a true cricket, but rather a shield-backed katydid. The common name derives from an invasion of the crops of Mormon settlers in the Salt Lake area in the mid-1800s.
We ran across plenty of these katydids on a recent hike although not in the numbers depicted in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy3dQJYquoY. While these insects can be quite destructive to crops they do eat the grasses and plants in natural rangelands much as large grazing mammals do (or did). I also find them quite interning to look at as each has subtle color variations.
Given these were not marching across our hiking trail in plague proportions I enjoyed seeing them on a late fall afternoon moving through the already dry grasses.

It felt like walking into an old western movie. High noon, a parched landscape, junipers, tumbleweed and a herd of wild burro roaming a landscape of bluffs, buttes and canyons.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend and happy wandering.
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