Tag: zen

Bombylis major: Bee-fly mimic

On By Mike and Christy2 Comments

An early arrival as the first spring wildflowers spring is Bombylis major a bee-fly mimic. Bomblyis is about 1/2-3/4 inches long and fuzzy as a cuddly teddy bear. At first thought you might think that probosces is quite the stinger but it is harmless and used to collect nectar.

These guys move very quickly from flower to flower early in the spring and seem to be gone by July which coincides with the decrease ins spring wildflowers.

Gotta love these little guys with the long proboscis, spindly legs and fuzzball bodies pollinating the spring flowers.

Yellow Bells:Fritillaria pudica

On By Mike and Christy13 Comments

In addition to the Glacier Lillies carpeting the forest floor these small Yellow Bells, which are also in the Lilly family, have kept us company this spring. The plants are only 10-30cm tall and usually contain a single flower. They grow scattered in patches both in open areas as shown below and in more forested areas as well.

The bulb of yellowbells is edible, raw or cooked. It can also be dried for later use. Since it is rich in starch, it is best used in the autumn, however, many tribes picked them in May and boiled them alone or with bitterroot. The raw bulb tastes like potatoes, when cooked it tastes like rice. It can be eaten as a vegetable or be added to soups etc. Several tribes used them for food. The green seedpods can be eaten, boiled as a wild green, but are said to be bitter.

We found flowers that ranged from the typical yellow to some that were a deep orange.

A small treasure that springs from the ground and one to look forward to again.

Wabbit

On By Mike and Christy12 Comments

wabbit

Spring time is Rabbit time. Last weekend we saw plenty of healthy rabbits roaming the sagebrush and grasslands of the Arapahoe Wildlife Refuge as well as plenty of Hawks looking for an easy meal. Luckily for this guy he stayed on guard and was reluctant to stray too far from the cover of the sage.

Stella Orangetip: Anthrocharis stella

On By Mike and Christy7 Comments


We have followed Anthrocharis stella commonly known as Stella Orangetip up and down the trail the last few week with little luck photographing these butterflies that rarely seemed to land. No fooling, one must have flown 25yards in front of us for at least 1/4 mile along the trail last week keeping tis distance but never landing.

When we did see one touch down it was always far in the distance and to make matters worse the wind seemed to be blowing just enough to make focusing with a long telephoto lens somewhat difficult. They definitely seemed to be searching for something specific in their flights and perhaps it was the small white flower in the photo above as they were scattered along the trail and not present in great numbers. Perhaps these flowers will increase in numbers as spring rolls on and then we will get a chance for more close-up shots of this fine looking butterfly.

Simply Spring

On By Mike and Christy3 Comments

A morning walk springs to life as fresh new leaves and vibrant colors paint the still brisk morning air.

The surprise of the day was a Dragonfly lurking about on wild roses trimmed short by the deer. Not much prey for this little predator so early in the season but don’t worry the bugs will come.

And even the coniferous trees were getting in on the action this morning.

Nothing fancy today….simply spring.