The first summer I was here, I saw what I thought was a hummingbird and took several shots before going “Eeewwww! That’s not a hummingbird!” Just in case you need educating like I did, this is some kind of sphinx moth. They flit among the flowers and hover like hummingbirds as they sip the nectar from the plants. They are pollinators, so I like them, but still get a bit grossed out by them.
We have just returned from a week visiting our daughter’s family in Alaska. Most of the time was spent at their family cabin on a small lake. I can’t imagine a more relaxing spot- especially at sunset. This iPhone shot was taken after 11 pm, when the light was just beginning to dim. Ahhhh….
This butterfly has been fluttering by the windows that look out on our back yard, but it never seemed to land. Today, I caught a glimpse of it through the front window and saw it land on a bush at the edge of our property. I grabbed my camera and spent about 10 minutes watching and photographing it with my zoom lens- my first butterfly photo of the summer!
The floofy little sparrows took shelter among the snow covered branches last week as the snow continued to come down last week. And now the snow has melted, and I’m thinking spring is just around the corner!
My Christmas pelican is still at Watson Lake. Last week, I received a certificate from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game thanking me for reporting his tag and giving me some information about him/her (they don’t know the gender). Basically, they informed me that the pelican was too young to fly when banded in 2020 near Minidoka, Idaho. I’ve always seen pelicans in groups, but this one seems to be alone; I’m hoping friends fly in soon!
Christmas Day was quiet at our house with just the two of us, but around noon we took a walk at Watson Lake. There were many ducks, a very few cormorants, one heron, and one pelican. We were hoping to see some sandhill cranes, because we had spotted some flying over Willow Lake a few days before, but did not see any at the lake. We suspect they kept flying, heading south.
Almost immediately after we spotted the pelican, it took off, and I was able to see the tags on his wings (there is a band on his leg as well). I took the time today to report the tag number to the North American Bird Banding Program, which I think will let me know where the bird was tagged.
Merry Christmas to you all!
I spotted this little tree on our October trip to Flagstaff and had to stop and take its photo. It was snowing, and I loved how the little tree was framed by the larger ones. Despite being overshadowed (literally), it grew, and showed its perfect form when covered with snow. The little tree that could!
This is the solstice, the still point
of the sun, its cusp and midnight,
the year’s threshold
and unlocking, where the past
lets go of and becomes the future;
the place of caught breath, the door
of a vanished house left ajar.
~ Margaret Atwood
I never know what to call these stick tepee things I often see on our walks- nor do I understand why they are there. But- the autumn light coming through the trees called out to me to take this photo.
On our last trip up to Flagstaff, we experienced two seasons in less than 24 hours! This is the morning after the huge snowstorm/thunderstorm which kept waking us up during the night. The snow was still lightly falling when I took this photo.
Another photo from Aspen Corner- this time from our second trip this month. It was mid-to-late afternoon, the sun was shining brightly, and the wind was just beginning to pick up, heralding the snowstorm to come.
Notes: Those are my husband’s fingers (I am not coordinated enough to hold the camera and glass ball at the same time- and I didn’t bring my tripod)! And this image won third place at my photo club this month!
We have just returned from an overnight to Flagstaff, where we visited Aspen Corner in sunshine one day and in snow the next. The image above is from our previous visit; newer images will be posted after I have time to process them. Autumn has fully arrived- and Winter is on its way!
Here is yet another image from our last trip up to Flagstaff. We are hoping to get up there again this week; there’s a chance of snow, so fingers crossed!
As we walked on the path through the trees, the sun started peeking through the clouds, creating spots of sunlight among the aspens on this overcast day. We are hoping for good weather next week when we make the trek up to Flagstaff once more on our quest for fall color.
When starting our walk at Aspen Corner, we saw indications that others had been there before us.
