Dave here... After spending many years on the cliffs of Eldorado, I recently went to there with a different goal in mind - interesting creek pictures. I also finally got a shot of the somewhat elusive spotted towhee nearby. I hope you enjoy the pics!
Well, you've all seen photos of the cat dressed up in risque outfits (e.g., her Carnival outfit), so it shouldn't surprise you to see Pente taking the next outlandish step - photos of a naked wet cat.
I'm not sure what is wrong with this animal. She is the most tolerant cat ever. Agreed - she doesn't beg to be bathed, but she doesn't fight it at all.
Her ears pulled back are the only indication of indignation. A feeling quickly forgotten afterward. So now she's clean again. She's pretty silly looking wet!
While capturing a bird in flight on a photograph is difficult, capturing them perched is not easy task either. Nonetheless, Dave has brought home some really nice photos. Thought I would present some of them here tonight.
The first bird shown is a Red-Breasted Nuthatch. I love how this bird looks to have a long flowing mane of hair (feathers) down his back. What a beautiful little bird! The second bird shown makes me think of the imminent arrival of Spring. This is an American Goldfinch who is part way through a molt. He is losing his drab winter feathers and growing in his beautiful bright yellow breeding plumage. Just seeing this bird molting has the same affect as seeing daffodils poking through the snow! Spring is imminent!
Next is a photo of what is commonly called a Snowbird. It's proper name is Dark-Eyed Junco. Dave caught this one with a seed in his mouth! See the little tongue? Cute!
Next up is a dessert bird - the Sage Thrasher. If you are familiar with Northern Mockingbirds, you should recognize that the Sage Thrasher is a close relative. What a beautiful song this bird has.
Dave photographed a cute little Black-Capped Chickadee. This is no ordinary Chickadee, this one resides in a nest by our front porch. Last year the pair in that nest fledged four chicks! We are hoping for an equally successful year for them this year.
Check out the nice photo of the White-Breasted Nuthatch. He is slightly larger than the Red-Breasted Nuthatch shown above though he is only about 5" long. Tiny cute little birds that make the silliest little sounds. They are always a treat to see and hear.
And finally, last but not least is a Western Meadowlark. Isn't he beautiful? Dave got a spectacular photo of this bird. Who can ever get tired of the song of a Meadowlark?
Not only do we live in a beautiful state, but we live in a beautiful county/city. Dave has photographed some of our daily views recently. It's really amazing isn't it?
The first two photos are taken in Eldorado State Park. We can get there from the house in no more than ten minutes.
The next two photos is also in our backyard here in Boulder. Part of this view can be seen from our back deck even. Known as the Flatirons, they make a nice subject for photos as this picture shows. No one can resist photos of the flatirons. They are spectacular.
The nighttime time lapse photo is taken a few blocks from the house in Boulder. Something oddly relaxing about these type of photos I think. I love how one can see that a motorist actually used a blinker in the outbound lane!
It's a beautiful city!
We are fortunate to live in such a pretty part of the country. We have a variety of landscapes and terrain within short drives. Dave has been busy trying to capture many of these beautiful scenes.
This past weekend, we drove a few hours southwest to the area around Alamosa. I needed desperately to get out of the house. Did I mention it was desperate? Hideous cabin fever is taking place.
I'm not sure of Alamosa's great claim to fame, but for us, it is that this cool little town has KILLER Mexican food! :)
Just outside of Alamosa are two excellent locales: The Great Sand Dunes National Park and a Wildlife refuge where Sandhill Cranes regularly stop over on their southern migration.
The sand dunes are crazy. They are 750 feet tall! They were created over time as the winds blew through the San Luis Valley eastward. Because of the mountains, the sand could go no further and instead collected at the base of the mountain range.
While Dave was able to hike to the top and leap off into the safety of the soft sand, I piddled at the edge. You may not know this, but walking on sand is advanced walking. It's hard on the feet. My recovering feet couldn't do it. Next time...
One of the most challenging things to do with photography - as we've quickly learned - is to get photos of birds in flight. Now, getting a photo of say a Red-Tailed Hawk soaring may not be so difficult, but what about a song bird? Or a hummingbird? Wow, are they difficult to catch!
That has been a challenge that has taken hold of Dave. And he taken some really nice photos.
I thought that this blog would be dedicated so some of those shots.
You'll see several beauties here. First up is the Red-Shafted Northern Flicker. We see tons of these around here. They are a type of woodpecker. Those of you out east may see his cousin the Yellow-Shafted Northern Flicker. The photo here is of a female. The male has a red malar strip (moustache) while the female's is mocha colored.
The next bird shown is a male Mountain Bluebird. This bird was photographed at the Great Sand Dunes of southern Colorado. I love this photo - see the shadow of the bird's foot on his wing? Very cool!
Not much to report. Just sitting around waiting to be in control of my life again as opposed to my foot being in control.
It's doing really way - far better than the last one. That is actually surprising since we thought the last one did so well. You can see at two weeks, other than the obvious wounds, it looks almost identical to the left foot. Today is actually three weeks since surgery and the right foot now exceeds the left foot in terms of mobility.
Very unexpected. About 1.5 more weeks in this frankenstein shoe, then it's freedom again. I will then be able to drive my own car again. Yay! I've been able to drive the truck for about a week. That thing is huge though. It does limit where I can (or am willing) to go.
