The Beauty Of The Changing Seasons

[PeeJay]

I'm bushed. I'm just going to dump a bunch of shots from today. Picture were taken with an eight year old Panasonic 5MP camera with a 12x zoom.

Raptor. Seconds after I took this picture she dived and plucked a rodent out of the meadow not more than 20 yards from where I was standing. I thrashed with the camera but missed the shot, dammit!

 

[PeeJay]

Some P. Dogs for Canna.

A couple of cow elk. They were about a quarter mile away, so the pics weren't great.

Mama scampered away as we approached, but baby bunny just did a half-arsed job of hiding. Baby was lucky I wasn't a coyote.

 

[PeeJay]

More:

And one more crappy raptor shot...

 

[Lester Freeman]

Um....

Omg.

My mind has been officially blown

 

[PeeJay]

Forgot one....

 

[yuyo]

beautemous!

 

[Lady Cannafan]

What beautiful scenery Peejay! I would love to stroll through there and sit on a rock above that "canyon" for lunch. I wonder if there is fish in the stream of that meadow area?
The prairie dogs are so cute. They make me giggle when they stand up like that and look around making their little sounds. ;-)
Nice job on the trip out dude! I hope it was as enjoyable as it looked. Momma Elk looked like she was yelling, could you hear her?

I hope you don't mind, a thought occurred to me so I had to follow through. I added something to your raptor silhouette:

 

[Lady Cannafan]

Forgot one....

The pattern on this moth is beautiful. Are those the eyes on the sides of the head? They look like little skulls. Such a cool shot!

 

[PeeJay]

I like the moon behind the hawk in the tree, Canna! That guy was a PITA. Every time I got close enough to take a picture he'd fly away a couple of hundred yards and perch in a different tree. He finally settled into that one with his back to the evening light.

You have the elk picture backwards. Mama is in front, and junior is shouting, "Mom, mom, wait for me!" They were trotting across a vast expanse of grasslands at a pretty good pace. In a couple of the other pictures you can see that the one in front is pregnant. They weren't great pictures so I already deleted them from the SD card.

Saw many fish jumping for bugs in the creek. I'd never fish there, though. To get into that area you have to hike about a mile off the highway before plunging down a very steep wooded slope following game trails where you can. At the bottom there is a fence line to cross that isn't posted as private in remote inaccessible areas. That's why it's so incredibly pristine back in there. If someone finds you back there with a daypack and you can reasonably maintain that you were unaware you were trespassing you will just be asked to leave, I reckon. If you were carrying a fishing pole or hunting rifle you would likely be in some serious trouble...

 

[Lady Cannafan]

I have time for just one pic upload, I just had to show you all this one. I was so concentrated on getting pictures of this rainbow color dragon fly that I almost didn't see what was directly under it on the same leaf. It's a walking stick!

My morning walk was super. I owe it all to Lester because all I intended to do was look at my wild mint to see if it flowered. It did. LOL

I'll load the rest of the shots after work tonight.

 

[PeeJay]

That is too awesome!

I need a camera with a better macro function. Unfortunately, I destroy cameras at a furious rate. I have a whole drawer full of broken cameras....

 

[GardenFaerie]

Aside from this which I mirror exactly:

Um....

Omg.

My mind has been officially blown

Peege, you must PM me and tell me where this is. It is quite possibly the most perfect looking place on the planet and exactly what I am yearning and looking for! Wow!

I am so impressed with everyone's photos. Not the photo itself, but the level of observation. I am hyper observant. It is often a huge pain in my butt, but it's great when nature is involved. I see a lot, and clearly by these observations, you all do, too.

Very nice.

 

[PeeJay]

Bulled my way up a horrendous 4x4 road to the top of a ridge in a 12 year-old burn scar for a morning walk. This area has been hard hit by wildfires in the last decade and a half. The burns used to bum me out, but now I find it fascinating to watch the land come back.

A stand of aspen growing in a drainage off the top of the ridge.

Light was not great looking across the valley to the east. In the evening this view is a draw dropper!

Looking west, away from the sun.

A bright future.

Thistle.

How about a wild onion flower photo, Lester?

There were lots of these. I happily gnawed on them as I walked.

Birds were everywhere happily chirping away.

Bet someone lives in that hole near the top of the burnt snag.

 

[Lady Cannafan]

Now that's what I call a nature hike! Wonderful view, I'm envious of the "far as the eye can see" views.

I'll bet that is one spectacular site when the sun is setting with some whispy clouds to set it afire with color.

It's so nice to see the new life replacing the old. And as you've shown, animals can adapt to things whether dead or living for their habitat.

Wish I could have gone with you.

 

[Lester Freeman]

Wow! Wild onion flowers, now that is really cool. Looks like you got to that Thistle right in time! That is just absolutely spectacular. What a set of views.

Here is M. having a snack this morning at 10 AM in a chronological sequence of shots as he proceeds to chomp away on some fresh Habiscus.

 

[PeeJay]

M. Is outstanding. He is like a garden statue the eats, breaths and moves. You are blessed to have him, Lester.

 

[Lady Cannafan]

Now there's something I would never have thought of doing with Hibiscus flowers. Most people would put them in a nice flower arrangement to give to other people, you give them to the turtle as food.

Too cool!

 

[GardenFaerie]

I am engulfed in total cooldom!

And as a side note, I cannot wake up. I have to sleep, now. My muscles feel like I exercised yesterday for ten hours straight with weights.

What the hell causes that?

 

[Lester Freeman]

M. Is outstanding. He is like a garden statue the eats, breaths and moves. You are blessed to have him, Lester.

Well put my friend! Well put!

Now there's something I would never have thought of doing with Hisbiscus flowers. Most people would put them in a nice flower arrangement to give to other people, you give them to the turtle as food.

Too cool!

Haha, correction. Tortoise! He's a California Desert Tortoise... (but close enough, right?? )

He loves them.

Did you know Habsiscus flowers can be used to make Jamaica? Essentially a Habsicus tea that contains many essential minerals, vitamin C, and many pigments known as anthocyanins which are believed to have medical healing power for relieving high blood pressure. It is a yummy sweetened drink, we've never made it with our flowers, but they do sell bags of the dried flowers at the Mexican market intended for the making of Jamaica. A lovely drink that I have had before, perfect for wandering the garden with.

Hibiscus tea - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Lady Cannafan]

I am engulfed in total cooldom!

And as a side note, I cannot wake up. I have to sleep, now. My muscles feel like I exercised yesterday for ten hours straight with weights.

What the hell causes that?

If you're anywhere in the 50's bracket, I think it's called getting older.


Hope you rested well.