Given Dave and I are both grounded now (me with my unknown source of angry heart; Dave with significant tendonitis), we have been trying to get out and see birds more often. In fact, while Dave has been out climbing and riding recently, I've been going on some formal bird walks. They are always fun. So, today, we offer some of his awesome bird photos. The first bird shown here is ADORABLE! A baby Violet-Green Swallow peeking out of his nest hole watching for dinner!
We managed to find a small group of Pygmy Nuthatches. Once we found these, it seems I'm seeing them everywhere.
White-Breasted Nuthatch. These silly birds never get old in terms of watching them.
And out buddy the Burrowing Owl. There is an area in town where a pair are raising two young. As we drove by, we were lucky enough to enjoy a show with them all.
Cedar Waxwings! We spent a lot of time and many evenings going to a spot we knew Cedar Waxwings and their fledglings were hawking for hours. They did not disappoint. So many beautiful birds to watch that it was hard to know where to look.
More Cedar Waxwings. Can you tell the males from the females? Smaller crest=female.
We had one Cedar Waxwing that was especially cooperative. There are so many good photos of the Cedars that it's hard to chose a few to post.
Larry was back in town for work and pleasure and we were able to spend a good deal of time with him. For those who are wondering, yes, Larry Hamilton - the Stata guy. First, he came to a supertopo happy hour. Then Dave and he spent an afternoon climbing in Boulder Canyon.
All the years here and he'd not been to Avalon. So off they went. Sounds like they had fun and of course, they climbed like heroes. :)
After that, I met them in downtown and we had dinner at Sherpas. Sherpas is always good and always variable on the service. I think we were all hungry enough we didn't even notice the service.
The following evening, Dave and Larry headed into Eldo to grab some fun after work. They had a great time on Blind Faith I heard. :)
Then they came home where I had some gourmet Nick and Willies pizza I'd slaved over. Yes, I drove to Nick and Willies and purchased them. I was exhausted. :)
Once bellies were happy, the silly stuff started happening. What a great time! Looking forward to his next visit.
August is a big birthday month around here. It seems many of our friends - especially the climbers - have birthdays in August.
So, not only did Dave turn 51 on the 10th, but his best friend Quinn turned 50 on the 14th. To celebrate that, they went out and climbed the Naked Edge.
This is Dave's 116th time up the Edge, and second time he'd climbed it that week. :) Quinn and Dave also realized that the first time they climbed it together was 25 years before.
Given I wasn't there, I can't add much except putting up photos for everyone to enjoy. Dave and Quinn styled the Edge which doesn't surprise me.
Maybe this will become an August birthday traditional with them?
Dave here...I decided to get up high for a mountain bike ride I'd not done before. Starting in Nederland, I headed up to the tiny town of Eldora and from there followed Forest Service "Road" 505 for about 10 miles to the Caribou area NW of Nederland.
This ride covers some pretty challenging rocky 4-WD terrain and gets as high as 10,300 feet in elevation. There are some very nice views and a fair number of flowers.
It was good to do a new ride, but much of the riding was somewhat abusive. Large rock obstacle kind of stuff. Still, it beats a day in the cube farm! :)
Dave pulled a few photos from Crested Butte off of his good camera so I wanted to share them here. Really beautiful place!
There were flowers of every color. Not sure what these are, but I like them. Purple + yellow= you can't go wrong.
Here is a photo of Lance Armstrong in the Leadville 100 Qualifier (he's #1 of course). He won the qualifier though won't compete in the Leadville 100. He said he's retired! The guy behind his is a Crested Butte local and clearly favorite. Lance gained 20 second on him in the upcoming uphill section. You can't see it here, but one minute in front of Lance at this point is #147 who Lance caught up with and passed in a difficult uphill section. He is something else!
These beautiful yellow flowers were everywhere in the one valley near Gothic, Colorado. Gorgeous!
This creek was next to where we camped. The rock is all slate, hence it's name "Slate Creek". More gorgeousness. :)
Given Dave and I are both grounded now (me with my unknown source of angry heart; Dave with significant tendonitis), we have been trying to get out and see birds more often. In fact, while Dave has been out climbing and riding recently, I've been going on some formal bird walks. They are always fun. So, today, we offer some of his awesome bird photos. The first bird shown here is ADORABLE! A baby Violet-Green Swallow peeking out of his nest hole watching for dinner!
We managed to find a small group of Pygmy Nuthatches. Once we found these, it seems I'm seeing them everywhere.
White-Breasted Nuthatch. These silly birds never get old in terms of watching them.
And out buddy the Burrowing Owl. There is an area in town where a pair are raising two young. As we drove by, we were lucky enough to enjoy a show with them all.
Cedar Waxwings! We spent a lot of time and many evenings going to a spot we knew Cedar Waxwings and their fledglings were hawking for hours. They did not disappoint. So many beautiful birds to watch that it was hard to know where to look.
More Cedar Waxwings. Can you tell the males from the females? Smaller crest=female.
We had one Cedar Waxwing that was especially cooperative. There are so many good photos of the Cedars that it's hard to chose a few to post.
Enjoy!
